Lebanon’s health minister said 2,750 people were injured and eight killed after mobile pagers used by Hezbollah to communicate exploded.
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon is among those injured in what Hezbollah called “mysterious” explosions that struck southern Beirut and several other areas in Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon.
CCTV footage showed an explosion in the trouser pocket of a man standing at a store checkout.
Hezbollah says it is investigating the cause of the explosions.
There has been no response yet from the Israeli army, which has been exchanging fire with Hezbollah since October last year, in parallel with the war in Gaza.
However, the events come just hours after Israel’s security cabinet declared the safe return of 60,000 residents displaced by Hezbollah attacks in the north an official war objective.
“The Security Cabinet has updated the objectives of the war with the following: To return the residents of the north safely to their homes,” the prime minister’s office said. “Israel will continue to implement this objective.”
On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a meeting with US envoy Amos Hochstein that the only way to allow Israel’s northern residents to return was through “military action.”
“The window of opportunity for an agreement is closing as Hezbollah continues to ‘bind’ itself to Hamas and refuses to end the conflict,” his office said in a statement.
Israel has repeatedly warned that it could launch a military operation to drive Hezbollah from the border.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza on October 7, the day after the war began, there have been almost daily gun battles across the border.
Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Palestinian group, both of which are backed by Iran and are considered terrorist organizations by Israel, the United Kingdom and other countries.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, at least 589 people have been killed since October, the vast majority of them Hezbollah fighters.
According to the Israeli government, 25 civilians and 21 members of the security forces were killed on the Israeli side.
