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BEIRUT (AP) — Dozens of people, including Iran’s ambassador, were wounded successful Beirut’s suburbs and different parts of Lebanon aft their handheld pagers exploded Tuesday, according to media reports and information officials. It wasn’t instantly clear if group were killed.
A elder subject intelligence charismatic and an charismatic pinch a Lebanese group pinch knowledge of nan situation, some of whom said connected information of anonymity because of nan sensitivity of nan situation, said that pagers carried by Hezbollah members were detonated. The 2nd charismatic said it was believed to beryllium an Israeli attack.
The Associated Press reached retired to nan Israeli military, which declined to comment.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency, adjacent to nan country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard, said connected its Telegram transmission that Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s ambassador successful Lebanon, has a superficial wounded and is nether study astatine a hospital. Meanwhile, different semi-official Mehr news agency, besides connected its Telegram transmission reported that Amani was wounded by a pager explosion.
Photos and videos from Beirut’s confederate suburbs circulating connected societal media and successful section media showed group lying connected nan pavement pinch wounds connected their hands aliases adjacent their pants pockets.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah antecedently warned nan group’s members not to transportation cellphones, saying that they could beryllium utilized by Israel to way their movements and to transportation retired targeted strikes.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry called connected each hospitals to beryllium connected alert to return successful emergency patients and for group who ain pagers to get distant from them. It besides asked wellness workers to debar utilizing wireless devices.
AP photographers astatine area hospitals said nan emergency rooms were overloaded pinch patients, galore of them pinch injuries to their limbs, immoderate successful superior condition.
The state-run National News Agency said hospitals successful confederate Lebanon, nan eastbound Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s confederate suburbs — each areas wherever Hezbollah has a beardown beingness — had called connected group to donate humor of each types.
The news agency reported that successful Beirut’s confederate suburbs and different areas “the handheld pagers strategy was detonated utilizing precocious technology, and dozens of injuries were reported.”
A Hezbollah charismatic said that astatine slightest 150 people, including members of nan group, were wounded successful different parts of Lebanon erstwhile nan pagers they were carrying exploded. The official, who said connected information of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to nan media, said nan explosions were nan consequence of “a information cognition that targeted nan devices.”
“The force (Israel) stands down this information incident,” nan charismatic said, without elaborating. He added that nan caller pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries that apparently exploded.
Lithium batteries, erstwhile overheated, tin smoke, melt and moreover drawback connected fire. Rechargeable lithium batteries are utilized successful user products ranging from cellphones and laptops to electrical cars. Lithium artillery fires tin pain up to 590 C (1,100 F).
The incident comes astatine a clip of heightened tensions betwixt Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces person been clashing near-daily for much than 11 months against nan backdrop of warfare betwixt Israel and Hezbollah state Hamas successful Gaza.
The clashes person killed hundreds successful Lebanon and dozens successful Israel and displaced tens of thousands connected some sides of nan border. On Tuesday, Israel said that halting Hezbollah’s attacks successful nan northbound to let residents to return to their homes is now an charismatic warfare goal.
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Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb successful Beirut, and Josef Federman, successful Jerusalem, contributed to this report.
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