Exploding pagers wounded hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon, a source close to the group told AFP. Iran's ambassador to Beirut, Mojtaba Amani, was wounded but his injuries are not critical, state media reported.
According to Hezbollah, there have been three casualties so far, one of them is the son of a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese parliament. The group said it was investigating the causes of the blasts.
A second source said the incident was the result of an "Israeli breach" in the organization's communications, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The incident is the first of its kind since Hezbollah began exchanging near-daily fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas after the Palestinian militant group's attack on Israel on October 7 sparked the Gaza war.
"Hundreds of Hezbollah members were wounded by the simultaneous explosion of their pagers" in the group's strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs, in southern Lebanon and in the eastern Bekaa Valley, the source said.
Health Minister Firas Abyad confirmed that hundreds of people were injured in the incidents across the country.
An AFP photographer in Beirut's southern suburbs saw ambulances taking wounded Hezbollah members to hospitals in the area.
A photographer in central Beirut saw dozens of wounded being transported to another hospital.
In eastern Lebanon, dozens of people have been injured in similar incidents in the Bekaa Valley.
The Ministry of Health has asked "all hospitals in... areas close to where the injured are located to be on high alert and raise their level of preparedness" and "all health workers to go urgently to their workplaces" to provide assistance.
The Lebanese Red Cross said it was on "high alert" in a statement shared on X.
Lebanon's official National News Agency reported an "unprecedented incident" in which "hand pagers" had exploded in several regions. | BGNES
