Beirut. Hundreds of handheld trackers exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least nine people, including members of the Hezbollah armed group and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials announced.
Authorities targeted Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated and remote attack that wounded more than 2,700 people at a time of heightened tensions on the border with Lebanon. The Israeli military declined to comment.
A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the group’s new brand of handheld pagers first heated up and then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abiad said at least nine people were killed and 2,750 wounded, 200 of them seriously.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was superficially wounded by a pager explosion and was being treated in hospital.
Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their trouser pockets.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously warned members of the group not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track their movements and carry out targeted attacks.
Lebanon’s health ministry has asked all hospitals to be on standby for emergency patients and for people with pagers to stay away from them. It has also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.
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– 2024-09-23 14:50:38
