Hezbollah blames Israel after pager explosions

At least nine people including a child were killed while over 2,750 others wounded after series of explosions of handheld pagers occurred across Lebanon.

Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among the injured in Beirut.

Hezbollah said the pagers belonged “to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions” confirming the deaths of eight fighters.

The group blamed Israel for the explosion declaring it a “criminal aggression” and vowed that it would get “just retribution”.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

There have been almost daily exchanges of fire across the Israel-Lebanon border since the day after the start of the war broke out betweem Israel and Hamas in Gaza on 7 October last year.

Hezbollah has said it is acting in support of the Iran-backed Palestinian group.

The UN’s spokesman said the latest developments in Lebanon were “extremely concerning, especially given that this is taking place within a context that is extremely volatile”.

Hezbollah said an unspecified number pagers exploded at around 15:30 local time (12:30 GMT) in the capital Beirut and many other areas.

One CCTV video showed an explosion in a man’s bag or pocket at a supermarket.

He is then seen falling backwards to the ground and crying out in pain as other shoppers run for cover.