Explosions in Lebanon: Health Minister Confirms 8 Dead and 2,750 Injured

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad confirmed a series of explosions across the country, resulting in the deaths of at least eight people and injuring 2,750 others. The blasts were caused by exploding handheld pagers.

Details of the Incident

Health Minister Firass Abiad stated that 200 people are in critical condition after the communication devices exploded on Tuesday. The victims are receiving treatment in over 150 hospitals.

Hezbollah reported that pagers belonging to its employees exploded, killing two of its fighters and a girl. The group is investigating the causes of the explosions. A Hezbollah official described the incident as the organisation’s ‘biggest security breach’ in nearly a year.

Injuries and Investigations

Arab media reported that around 1,000 Hezbollah operatives have been injured by exploding pagers and radios. Hezbollah figures in Syria and Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, were also injured in the blasts. Social media is filled with videos showing the explosions and the chaos in Lebanese hospitals.

Unverified reports have attributed the blasts to an Israeli cyber attack. However, no official statement has been released by the Israeli military.

Israel’s Response

Israel’s Security Cabinet updated its war goals, including the secure return of 60,000 evacuated northern residents to their homes. Israeli officials have called for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from southern Lebanon, in line with UN Security Council resolution 1701.

Israel’s other war goals include the eradication of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, the return of all hostages, and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel. At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.