Update: Lebanese Health Ministry says at least 8 dead, over 2,500 injured in sabotage of Hezbollah pagers

Eight people were killed, including a child, and around 2,800 people were injured, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Tuesday evening, after pagers carried by Hezbollah members in Lebanon exploded simultaneously in areas across the country, including the western suburbs of Beirut and the country’s south earlier in the afternoon.

Hezbollah said that three children were killed and attributed the attack to Israel, adding that Israel would face retribution in statements released on Tuesday evening. 

“We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression, which also targeted civilians and led to the martyrdom of a number of people and the injury of many,” the party said. “The enemy will certainly receive its just retribution for this sinful aggression from where it expects and from where it does not expect.” Israel had not issued a comment on the attacks as of the time of publishing, but Israeli media reported that the military was on high alert in the wake of the attack.

Thousands of Hezbollah members were injured in the explosions, according to a Lebanese security source who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. 

One of those killed in the explosions was the son of Hezbollah parliament member Ali Ammar according to Lebanese media. 

The Lebanese security source told Mada Masr “the explosion of communication devices constitutes the largest security breach so far.” The national news agency described the explosions as an attack by Israeli forces. 

Hezbollah began widely using the pagers in recent months amid fears of a communications breach which surfaced after the assassinations of senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri in January and Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr in July. In the days following the airstrike that killed Shukr, members of the resistance forces in Lebanon were offline for several days and began moving operations outside of areas of southern Beirut. 

A source close to Hezbollah told Mada Masr that the party began to use the recently imported devices after they were instructed not to use mobile phones for security reasons.

In Tuesday’s attack, the Iranian ambassador to Beirut Mojtaba Amani was also injured and admitted to a hospital in Beirut, according to a second source close to Hezbollah, the security source and an Amal Party source who also spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity. 

According to the source close to Hezbollah, the ambassador is now in stable condition. 

Footage circulating online of the devices exploding showed that pagers first emitted a notification sound, and then appeared to explode with moderate force. Pagers were shown broken into pieces. 

Serious injuries to people’s hands or legs where the devices had been carried in pockets were photographed by media filming at the scene of explosions which took place in Dahiyeh, the southern suburb of Beirut.

Pagers carried by individuals in Marj Ayoun, Hermel and Tyre exploded as well as in the Bekaa, Rayak and Ali al-Nahri, said the national news agency. 

The Lebanese Health Ministry issued a statement instructing hospitals across the country to be ready to respond to injuries and told anyone carrying similar pagers to dispose of them.

Hospitals in the south were crowded with those injured, with a large number transferred to hospitals in Beirut, such as Rasoul al-Aazam and Bahman, according to the security source.  

At least six cases in critical condition were admitted to Geitaoui Hospital in Beirut, according to informed sources. Sirens have been audible across the capital for hours after the explosions took place.

11 Hezbollah members were injured in Syria, according to Syrian media reports. A Syrian source in the presidential media office said that some of those injured were transported to hospitals in Damascus and in the surrounding area.

The Lebanese security source said the cause of the explosions was a cyber breach.