Hezbollah pagers explode across Lebanon, injuring thousands

BEIRUT — Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials said.

Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack that wounded more than 2,700 people at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border. The Israeli military declined to comment.

A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others.

Lebanon’s health minister, Firas Abiad, said at least eight people were killed and 2,750 wounded — 200 of them critically.

Iranian state-run IRNA news agency said that the country’s ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, was superficially wounded by an exploding pager and was being treated at a hospital.

Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry called on all hospitals to be on alert to take in emergency patients and for people who own pagers to get away from them. It also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.

AP photographers at area hospitals said the emergency rooms were overloaded with patients, many of them with injuries to their limbs, some in serious condition.

The state-run National News Agency said hospitals in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut’s southern suburbs — all areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence — had called on people to donate blood of all types.

The news agency reported that in Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas “the handheld pagers system was detonated using advanced technology, and dozens of injuries were reported.”

The Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media said the explosions were the result of “a security operation that targeted the devices.”

“The enemy (Israel) stands behind this security incident,” the official said, without elaborating. He added that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries that apparently exploded.

Lithium batteries, when overheated, can smoke, melt and even catch on fire. Rechargeable lithium batteries are used in consumer products ranging from cellphones and laptops to electric cars. Lithium battery fires can burn up to 1,100 F degrees Fahrenheit.

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza.

The clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. On Tuesday, Israel said that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal .

Israel has killed Hamas militants in the past with booby-trapped cellphones and it’s widely believed to have been behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack on Iran’s nuclear program in 2010.

Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, and Josef Federman, in Jerusalem, contributed to this report.

贝鲁特——黎巴嫩政府和真主党官员称，周二，数百部手持寻呼机在黎巴嫩各地和叙利亚部分地区几乎同时爆炸，造成至少8人死亡，其中包括真主党武装组织成员和一名女孩，伊朗大使受伤。

官员们将矛头指向以色列，指责其发动了一起看似精心策划的远程袭击，造成2700多人受伤，而此时黎巴嫩边境局势正日益紧张。以色列军方拒绝置评。

一位不愿透露姓名的真主党官员告诉美联社，该组织使用的新型手持寻呼机先是发热，然后爆炸，造成至少两名成员死亡，另有多人受伤。

黎巴嫩卫生部长菲拉斯·阿比亚德表示，至少有 8 人死亡，2750 人受伤，其中 200 人伤势严重。

伊朗官方通讯社伊通社报道称，伊朗驻美大使莫杰塔巴·阿马尼被爆炸的寻呼机炸伤，目前正在医院接受治疗。

社交媒体和当地媒体上流传的贝鲁特南部郊区的照片和视频显示，有人躺在人行道上，手上或裤兜附近有伤口。

真主党领导人哈桑·纳斯鲁拉此前曾警告该组织成员不要携带手机，称以色列可能利用手机追踪他们的行踪并进行定点打击。

黎巴嫩卫生部呼吁所有医院保持警惕，接收急诊病人，并要求持有寻呼机的人员远离医院。卫生部还要求医护人员避免使用无线设备。

美联社摄影师在当地医院表示，急诊室人满为患，许多病人四肢受伤，其中一些伤势严重。

黎巴嫩国家通讯社报道称，黎巴嫩南部、东部贝卡谷地和贝鲁特南部郊区（真主党势力强大的地区）的医院呼吁人们捐献各种类型的血液。

该新闻机构报道称，在贝鲁特南部郊区和其他地区，“手持寻呼机系统被利用先进技术引爆，据报道造成数十人受伤”。

一位不愿透露姓名的真主党官员表示，爆炸是“针对这些装置的安全行动”的结果，因为他没有被授权接受媒体采访。

“敌人（以色列）是这起安全事件的幕后黑手，”这位官员说道，但并未详细说明。他还补充说，真主党成员携带的新型寻呼机使用了锂电池，这些电池显然发生了爆炸。

锂电池过热时会冒烟、熔化甚至起火。可充电锂电池广泛应用于从手机、笔记本电脑到电动汽车等各种消费产品中。锂电池起火时的温度可高达华氏1100度（约摄氏550度）。

此次事件发生之际，黎巴嫩和以色列之间的紧张局势正处于高度紧张之中。在过去11个多月的时间里，黎巴嫩真主党武装组织与以色列军队几乎每天都发生冲突，而与此同时，以色列和真主党的盟友哈马斯也在加沙地带交战。

冲突已造成黎巴嫩数百人死亡，以色列数十人死亡，边境两侧数万人流离失所。周二，以色列表示，阻止真主党在北部发动袭击，使居民能够返回家园，现已成为一项正式的战争目标。

以色列过去曾用装有炸弹的手机杀死哈马斯武装分子，并且普遍认为以色列是 2010 年伊朗核计划遭受“震网”计算机病毒攻击的幕后黑手。

Abby Sewell 和 Kareem Chehayeb 在贝鲁特，Josef Federman 在耶路撒冷，对本报道亦有贡献。