Lebanon explosions ‘an extremely concerning escalation’, says UN official, as Hezbollah threatens retaliation – as it happened

At least eight people were killed and 2,750 wounded after pager explosions across Lebanon, according to the country’s health minister, Firass Abiad.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was wounded on Tuesday when a pager exploded, according to state media.

Amani’s wounds were “superficial”, state media are reporting, adding that he was “conscious and in no danger”.

Two Hezbollah fighters and a girl have been killed in a series of simultaneous detonations of pagers on Tuesday, the group said.

In a statement, Hezbollah did not directly accuse Israel of being behind the operation. According to Al Jazeera, it said:

At approximately 3:30pm on Tuesday 09-17-2024, a number of message receiving devices known as ‘pagers’ exploded, which were owned by a number of workers in various Hezbollah units and institutions.

These explosions, the causes of which are still unknown, led to the martyrdom of a girl and two brothers, and the injury of a large number of people with various injuries.

The 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed when his pager exploded on Tuesday, her family has told AFP.

The news agency quoted her relatives as saying:

A 10-year-old girl was martyred in the Bekaa Valley after her father’s pager exploded while he was next to her.

A Hezbollah fighter, the son of a Hezbollah MP, was killed in the pager explosion, two security sources told Reuters.

Lebanese media are also reporting that the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar was killed.

From Timour Azhari of Reuters:

More than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were injured when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, security sources told Reuters. This figure – which we have not yet independently verified - is far higher than the hundreds of injuries estimated in earlier reports.

In other developments:

• The pagers that detonated were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah in recent months, three security sources told Reuters.

• The head of the the Nabatieh public hospital in southern Lebanon, Hassan Wazni, told Reuters that around 40 injured people were being treated at his facility, including for wounds to the face, eyes and limbs.

• The Lebanese Red Cross said more than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical staff were dispatched to help in the evacuation of victims.

• There has been no official comment by Israel yet about the simultaneous explosions in Lebanon.

• Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, including fighters and medics, were seriously injured on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded, a security source told Reuters. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those who were injured by the explosions, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported. A Hezbollah official said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel. No deaths have been reported. A source close to Hezbollah told AFP the explosions were an “Israeli breach” of its communications.

• Israel’s domestic security agency said it had foiled a plot by Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior defence official in the coming days. The Shin Bet agency said it had seized an explosive device attached to a remote detonation system, using a mobile phone and a camera, that Hezbollah had planned to operate from Lebanon.

• At least 41,252 Palestinian people have been killed and 95,497 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Gaza health ministry said.

• The Palestinian education ministry said 11,001 students – from schools and universities – have been killed and 17,772 injured in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank since 7 October 2023.

• There are reports that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is contemplating firing his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, and replacing him with Gideon Saar, a member of the opposition and the New Hope party leader. Israel’s Business Forum, which consists of 200 heads of Israel’s largest companies that employ many private sector workers, urged Netanyahu to keep Gallant in his position as defence minister, saying it would create more division and weaken the country if he was let go.

The Israeli daily Haaretz is reporting that the local council head of the northern Israeli town of Shlomi, Gabi Na’aman, has urged residents to stay near shelters.

Na’aman wrote:

Due to the unique security situation in which we have found ourselves in the past hour, I ask out of an abundance of caution to stay near your children and your shelters.

Hundreds of people were injured across Lebanon when their pagers exploded earlier today, health minister Firass Abiad has said, with a source close to Hezbollah telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) its members were targeted. No deaths have been reported.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was among those who were injured by the explosions, Iran’s Mehr news agency reported.

Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said Amani suffered a slight injury. “Amani has a superficial injury and is currently under observation in a hospital,” Fars quoted a source as saying.

Regional broadcasters carrying CCTV footage which showed what appeared to be a small handheld device placed next to a grocery store cashier where an individual was paying spontaneously exploding. In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand at a market area.

Lebanon’s crisis operations center has asked all medical workers to head to their respective hospitals to help cope with the massive numbers of injured people coming into for urgent care. It said health care workers should not use pagers.

A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that the incident was a result of an “Israeli breach” of its communications.