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Hundreds of Hezbollah members in Lebanon were injured after multiple pagers, a form of personal wireless communication device, exploded on Tuesday, a member of Hezbollah’s media office said. Hezbollah, a militia allied with Iran and Hamas, claimed that the pagers were the target in the event of a cyber attack.
The official confirmed to Semafor that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was injured and that several pagers also exploded in Syria.
According to the country’s Ministry of Health, more than 1,000 people have been injured.
According to the Red Cross, the explosions occurred mainly in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley and eastern Lebanon, and in a southern suburb of Beirut. Both areas are known strongholds of Hezbollah.
A Hezbollah official told Al Jazeera that the incident was “biggest security breach“the Iranian-backed militia had experienced since the war between Israel and Hamas began after the October 7 attack. Israel has not commented on the incident.
Hezbollah had previously asked the fighters to stop using smartphones. Hezbollah said Israel had the technology to infiltrate and penetrate such devices, Al Jazeera reported.