ALBAWABA - After wireless communication device explosions, at least three Hezbollah members were killed and over 1,200 wounded. Security sources reported blasts in southern Lebanon and Beirut's southern suburbs.
Al Jazeera's reporter, citing security authorities, stated that Hezbollah operatives' pagers caused the explosives in different Lebanon sites.
Two security sources told Reuters that one decedent was a Hezbollah militant and another was the son of a party-affiliated MP. In eastern Lebanon, a 10-year-old girl was murdered when her Hezbollah father's pager detonated.
The Iranian Embassy in Beirut said Mojtaba Amani, Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, was stable after minor injuries. Iranian news outlet Fars reported the ambassador's short hospitalization.
A source told Al Jazeera that a sophisticated wireless hacking operation detonated the communication equipment. Explosions hit southern Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon.
Security sources informed Reuters that Hezbollah just obtained modern communication technology. According to knowledgeable sources, lithium batteries may have overheated and caused the explosions, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Lebanon News Agency, among others, accused Israel of remotely hacking and detonating the pagers. Israeli Channel 12 said that a top Netanyahu adviser tweeted about Israeli participation, but the advisor subsequently removed the message. Yedioth Ahronoth claimed that Israeli authorities had kept quiet about the affair.
Former high-ranking Israeli military intelligence personnel said the operation was a deliberate message performed after great planning. The destruction of hundreds of Hezbollah members' communication devices was an unparalleled intelligence breach, according to a former Shin Bet officer.
Haaretz and Israel Hayom claimed that top Israeli military and security officials conducted emergency briefings to prepare for Hezbollah retribution. Based on indications of increased Hezbollah activities in southern Lebanon, Israeli security officials prepared for an escalation.
Lebanon's health ministry declared an emergency. Health Minister Firass Abiad said hundreds were hurt and hospitals needed blood. People are encouraged to give blood to treat the injured.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati ordered the health minister to leave a cabinet meeting to coordinate the crisis response.
Hezbollah has encouraged its members to use a unique communication method instead of mobile phones to escape Israeli observation.
