BEIRUT/DAMASCUS/JERUSALEM – Eight people were killed and over 2,800 others, including Hezbollah members and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon were wounded on Tuesday in different areas of Lebanon as their pagers exploded, said Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad.
Four Hezbollah fighters were injured on Tuesday after their communication devices exploded in Syria's capital Damascus, a war monitor reported.
The Shi’ite group blamed Israel for "this criminal attack”, vowing to retaliate. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the incidents.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it is conducting security and scientific investigations to identify the reasons behind these explosions, adding that the group is "at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its people."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant held a security assessment meeting at the HaKirya military base in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, following the pager explosions in Lebanon.
Sudden explosions
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad said hundreds of pagers detonated in different areas across Lebanon, killing at least eight and injuring over 2,800 others.
The son of Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar was among those killed and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among the injured, according to Lebanon’s Elnashra news website.
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Israeli military targeted the batteries of these pagers, leading to their explosions, said the report, adding the injured were being transferred to hospitals.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the mobilization of all departments of the Public Health Ministry to follow up on medical care for the wounded.
The health ministry's Emergency Operations Center issued an urgent statement requesting all hospitals across Lebanon to be on high alert and enhance preparedness to meet the massive need for emergency health services.
The ministry also asked all citizens to discard their pager devices immediately over safety concerns.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Council of Ministers stressed that the government began contacting the concerned countries and the United Nations to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Explosions in Damascus
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said four Hezbollah fighters were injured on Tuesday after their communication devices exploded inside a vehicle near the Kafr Sousa neighborhood in Damascus.
Two similar incidents took place in the Sayyida Zaynab area in the southern countryside of Damascus and an unknown area in the western Qalamoun region, it added.
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Meanwhile, a statement from a Damascus police source, carried by the Syrian pro-government newspaper al-Watan, confirmed that an explosion occurred near the Al-Mouwasat tunnel in Kafr Sousa, resulting in multiple injuries.
The injured were taken to Al-Mouwasat Hospital for treatment, said the report, noting that some of them sustained serious injuries.
Israel’s assessment meeting
An Israeli government official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that Israeli PM Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant held a security assessment meeting focusing on potential Israeli responses to a possible escalation triggered by the explosions.
Local authorities in northern Israel have asked residents to remain near shelters and have reinforced safe rooms, citing concerns of a potential escalation.
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The incidents came after Israel's security cabinet decided earlier in the day to expand the goals of the military operation in the Gaza Strip to include the safe return of residents in northern Israel who were evacuated due to the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.
The decision, widely seen as a step toward further escalation, followed warnings from Netanyahu and Gallant that Israel was prepared to intensify the conflict.
