Hezbollah Vows To 'Punish' Israel After Pager Explosions Across Lebanon Kill 9, Injure Nearly 3,000

A series of synchronized pager explosions in Lebanon killed at least nine people and injured nearly 3000. Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon was injured in the attack.

At least nine people were killed and nearly 3000 injured, many grievously so, in Lebanon after a synchronised detonation of pagers targeting the US-designated terror group Hezbollah. Iran's Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured by the explosion of an electronic pager, according to a report by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. 

The pagers exploded in southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahiyeh and the eastern Bekaa Valley - all Hezbollah strongholds. In one instance, a video of closed-circuit surveillance showed a person paying at a grocery store as what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to the cashier exploded.

Hezbollah Vows To Punish Israel

The Hezbollah has, meanwhile, promised to retaliate against Israel after accusing it of detonating pagers across Lebanon. Hezbollah said Israel would receive "its fair punishment" for the blasts, according to a report by news agency Reuters. The death toll rose from eight to nine on Tuesday night while the number of injured remained at 2,750, the report said quoting Lebanon's health ministry. 

In an earlier statement, Hezbollah confirmed that the deaths included at least two of its fighters and a young girl.

A Hezbollah official, on condition of anonymity, told Reuters, that the incident was the "biggest security breach" for the group in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.

Reportedly, casualties included Hezbollah fighters who are the sons of top officials from the armed group. One of those killed was the son of a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament, Ali Ammar.

"This is not a security targeting of one, two or three people. This is a targeting of an entire nation," senior Hezbollah official Hussein Khalil said while paying his condolences for Ammar's son.

Lebanon Condemns Attack

Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary also condemned the late-afternoon detonation of the pagers - handheld devices which are used by Hezbollah and others in Lebanon to send messages - as an "Israeli aggression". 

Israel Declines To Comment

As per the Reuters report, the Israeli military, which has been engaged in cross-border fighting with Iran-backed Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war in October, declined to respond to questions about the detonations.