Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have reportedly been injured after handheld pagers they use to communicate exploded.
Lebanon’s state news agency said there were blasts in the southern suburbs of Beirut and several other areas. Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV also said many pagers had exploded, without identifying those hurt.
Videos and photos on social media appeared to show wounded men sitting or lying on floors and others being rushed to hospitals. Unconfirmed CCTV footage showed blasts in shops.
A Hezbollah official told Reuters news agency it constituted the “biggest security breach yet” since hostilities with Israel escalated 11 months ago in parallel with the Gaza war.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
However, the events come hours after Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of residents to the north of the country an official goal of the war in Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly warned it could launch a military operation to drive Hezbollah away from the border.
