Lebanon’s health minister says eight were killed and some 2,800 were wounded, including 200 seriously, in the pager blasts in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has said that two members are among the dead. A young girl, the daughter of a Hezbollah member, was also reported killed after a pager exploded in her parents’ home.
Health Minister Firas Abiad says hospitals continue to receive the wounded and that most injuries are in the hand and face. Meanwhile, a large Red Cross convoy is on its way to southern Lebanon, according to Al Arabiya.
Footage shows dozens of white-and-red jeeps and ambulances lined up by the side of a road near a church.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah promised to retaliate after blaming Israel for detonating pagers on Tuesday that killed at least eight people and wounded 2,750 others, including many of the militant group’s fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary condemned the detonation of the pagers – used by Hezbollah and others in Lebanon to communicate – as an “Israeli aggression”. Hezbollah said Israel would receive “its fair punishment” for the blasts.
The Israeli military, which has been engaged in cross-border warfare with Iran-backed Hezbollah since the start of the Gaza war last October, declined to respond to Reuters’ questions about the detonations.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.
Developments in Lebanon are extremely concerning, especially given the “extremely volatile” context, said U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding that the U.N. deplores any civilian casualties.
Without commenting directly on the explosions in Lebanon, an Israeli military spokesman said the chief of staff, Major General Herzi Halevi, had met with senior officers on Tuesday evening to assess the situation. No policy change was announced but “vigilance must continue to be maintained”, he said.
