Israel blamed as pagers ‘targeting Hezbollah members’ explode across Lebanon

At least nine people have been reported killed and about 2,750 wounded after pagers exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday.

Firass Abiad, Lebanese health minister, said an eight-year-old girl was among those killed, while over 200 people are in critical condition with injuries, mostly reported to the face, hands, and stomach.

A pager is a wireless communications device that receives and displays messages.

The Hezbollah militant group, a close ally of Hamas, the Palestinian militant group involved in the Gaza war, has been using pagers as a low-tech means of communication to possibly evade tracking by Israel.

The pagers’ simultaneous explosions rattled Hezbollah, with an official of the group describing it as Israel’s largest security breach in a year.

Experts have shared two competing theories as to how hundreds of pagers could have exploded at the same time.

One theory is that there was a cybersecurity breach, causing the pagers’ lithium batteries to overheat and detonate.

Another is that there was a “supply chain attack” where the pagers were tampered with during the manufacturing and shipping process.

Hamas, in a statement, expressed solidarity with Hezbollah and blamed Israel for the attack.

“We, in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), strongly condemn the Zionist terrorist aggression that targeted Lebanese citizens by detonating communication devices in various areas of Lebanese territories, as well as civilian and service facilities,” the statement reads.

“We value the jihad and sacrifices of our brothers in Hezbollah and their determination to continue supporting and backing our Palestinian people in Gaza.”

The Israeli military has declined to comment on the incident.

The United States also said it did not receive intelligence of the attack beforehand.

The pager explosions came amid increased hostility between Hezbollah and Israel.

Tensions in the region have been heightened since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, and there has been an ensuing war in Gaza.

Hezbollah has vowed to punish Israel for the attack.