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Hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon were injured after multiple pagers, a form of low tech personal wireless communication device, exploded Tuesday, a member of Hezbollah’s media office said.
Hezbollah, an Iran and Hamas-aligned militia and the strongest political party in Lebanon, alleged the pagers were targeted in a cyberattack.
Hezbollah later issued a statement that alleged Israel was responsible for the attack, and vowed retaliation.
At least 2,750 were injured, according to the country’s health ministry, and at least one child was killed.
The Hezbollah official confirmed with Semafor that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was injured, adding that some pagers had also reportedly exploded in Syria.
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The explosions appeared to be concentrated in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, and a southern suburb of Beirut, the Red Cross said, all known Hezbollah strongholds.
A Hezbollah official told Al Jazeera the incident was the “biggest security breach” the Iran-backed militia had experienced since the Israel-Hamas war began following the Oct. 7 attack. Israel has not commented on the incident.
Hezbollah had previously asked fighters to stop using smartphones, claiming Israel has the technology to compromise those devices.
The pagers were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah in recent months, security sources told Reuters.
Videos on social media shared from hospitals and streets showed extensive injuries that mainly targeted chests, waists, hands and faces. Three people — including one child — were killed, Hezbollah said in a statement, adding that the cause of the explosions was unknown as of yet.