Lebanese health officials warned the public to avoid using portable communication devices on Tuesday after the powerful militant and Iran-backed political group Hezbollah said pagers had exploded across the country.
Al-Manar, a Lebanese television station run by Hezbollah, said the devices “were exploding in the hands of their holders in several Lebanese regions.”
“A large number of people with various injuries are arriving at Lebanese hospitals,” the Public Health Emergency Operations Center of Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said, according to the state-run Lebanese National News Agency.
“The ministry asks all citizens who own wireless communication devices to stay away from them until the truth of what is happening is revealed,” the National News Agency quoted the health ministry as saying.
The office of Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said ministers were informed of “security incidents” that occurred in several regions across the country.
The incidents unfolded a day after Israel announced a new war target, fueling fears of a new military offensive in Lebanon. He also warned the US that “military action” would likely be the only way to deal with the growing hostilities with Hezbollah.
It was unclear whether the incidents were part of a coordinated attack, which represents a significant security breach for Hezbollah.
As of late Tuesday afternoon local time, no one had claimed responsibility for the series of explosions, some of which appeared to have been caught on CCTV video and shared on social media.
Israeli officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the incidents.
Press agency Reuters said dozens of Hezbollah members were seriously injured in southern Lebanon and the southern outskirts of the country’s capital, Beirut.
A Reuters reporter saw 10 Hezbollah members bleeding from wounds in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, the agency said. It was unclear if civilians were also among those affected by the incident.
Late Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced that his security cabinet had updated its list of war objectives to include the safe return of residents who were displaced from their homes near Israel’s northern border with Lebanon because of months of fighting with Hezbollah.
“Israel will continue to act to implement this goal,” the prime minister’s office said.
Thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border in the months since Israel’s offensive in Gaza began following attacks led by Hamas on October 7, with Hezbollah vowing to continue the attacks until the end of Israel’s assault on Gaza.