Lebanon: Hezbollah blames Israel for series of pager blasts, says will get 'fair punishment'

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 war with Israel.

Lebanon's Hezbollah blamed Israel for a spree of pager blasts across Lebanon, saying it will get 'its fair punishment', according to a statement released by the militant group on Tuesday. According to the Lebanon Health Minister, at least eight people were killed and more than 2,800 were injured in the deadly blast. Multiple media reported Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was harmed in the spree of pager blasts across Lebanon. However, a senior Hezbollah source told Reuters that he was not injured in the incident.

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 UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, adding that the UN 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.

Hezbollah earlier confirmed in a statement the deaths of at least two of its fighters in the explosions and said it was conducting an investigation into their causes.

Hezbollah fighters have been using pagers as a low-tech means to try and avoid Israeli tracking of their locations, two sources familiar with the group's operations told Reuters earlier this year. A pager is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays messages. The pagers were detonated in southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahiyeh and the eastern Bekaa valley - all Hezbollah strongholds.

(With inputs from agency)

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