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At least eight people have been killed and 2,750 people injured after a spree of simultaneous detonations of handheld pagers, which were reportedly being used by the armed group Hezbollah.
Lebanon’s health minister Firass Abiad said that 200 people had sustained critical injuries, while a statement Hezbollah claimed that one of the victims included a 10-year-old girl.
More than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical workers rushed to help the victims, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
An investigation has been launched to determine the causes of the blasts, while one Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.
The explosions reportedly occurred in a southern suburb of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, and other towns in central and southern Lebanon. One video on social media shows a man falling to the floor after a sudden blast, while others flee the area.
The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured by one of the blasts, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported. Two security sources also told Reuters that one of the fighters killed was the son of a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament.
The Israeli military has so far declined to comment.
Hezbollah place blame on Israel for pager blasts
Hezbollah has blamed Israel for a spree of pager blasts across Lebanon, saying it will get “its fair punishment”, according to a statement released by the militant group on Tuesday.
No evidence has been provided to support this claim, and the Israeli military have not yet responded.
Emergency rooms overloaded with patients as people urged to donate blood
Photographers for Associated Press at hospitals said the emergency rooms were overloaded with patients, many of them with injuries to their limbs, some in serious condition.
The state-run National News Agency said hospitals in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs – all areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence – had called on people to donate blood of all types.
The news agency reported that in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas “the handheld pagers system was detonated using advanced technology, and dozens of injuries were reported”.
Photos and videos show people lying on the ground with injuries
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 pants pockets.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry mobile phones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes.
Lebanon’s health ministry called on all hospitals to be on alert to take in emergency patients and for people who own pagers to get away from them. It also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.
Eight people killed and almost 2,750 wounded, says Lebanon’s health minister
Eight people were killed and almost 2,750 wounded – 200 of them critically – in a spree of simultaneous detonations of pagers across Lebanon, Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Tuesday.
A Hezbollah official earlier claimed that the son of one of their prominent legislators Ali Ammar Mahdi, was killed when device he was carrying exploded.
Read the full story: ‘More than a thousand’ Hezbollah members injured after pagers suddenly explode
A security source told Reuters the number of wounded was more than 1,000. In a statement, Hezbollah claimed that three people had been killed, including “a girl and two brothers”.
The Independent could not immediately verify this claim, but the family of a Hezbollah member told Agence France-Presse that their 10-year-old daughter had been killed in Lebanon’s east. Another official from the group said the son of one of Hezbollah’s prominent legislators Ali Ammar Mahdi, was killed when device he was carrying exploded.
Read the full article here:
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Welcome to our live coverage after hundreds of Hezbollah fighters have reportedly been injured after their handheld pagers detonated.
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Source: independent.co.uk
