Pager devices “exploded in the hands of their owners in a number of Lebanese regions” on Tuesday, according to Hezbollah-owned Lebanese media outlet Al-Ahed News.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health has issued a statement Tuesday instructing all hospitals in various regions of Lebanon to be on maximum alert and raise their level of readiness to meet the rapid need for emergency health services.
The ministry noted that preliminary information indicates “the injuries were related to the explosion of wireless devices that were in the possession of the injured.”
The ministry also asked all citizens who own pagers to throw them away immediately.
The Lebanese Red Cross said it has deployed “more than 30 ambulances” to help treat and evacuate “the wounded as a result of multiple explosions in the South, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut,” according to a post on its official X account.
Civil Defense first-responders carry a wounded man whose handheld pager exploded at al-Zahraa hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 17, 2024.
Hussein Malla/AP
The group also added “50 more ambulances and 300 Emergency Medical Technicians [are] on standby to assist in the evacuation of victims.”
Back in February, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had urged members to stop using mobile phones, saying, “I call for dispensing with cellphone devices at this stage, which are considered a deadly agent.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
