Over 1,000 Hezbollah members injured by exploding pagers in Lebanon — hack or sabotage suspected

At least 1,000 Hezbollah members across Lebanon were injured in what appeared to be a simultaneous attack that caused pagers to explode, several reports have indicated.

After videos and imagery of exploded devices and injured Hezbollah members circulated online, Hezbollah put out several statements condemning the apparent attack.

The group said that the detonations killed two of its fighters and a girl and are carrying out an investigation.

Lebanon's Ministry of Health also urged citizens to discard pagers if they owned them and put hospitals on "high alert," per CNN.

Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was reportedly injured from an explosion as well. According to Al Jazeera, Hezbollah is claiming the explosions were part of a coordinated hack-and-detonate operation using the pagers.

However, the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the pagers were from a new shipment that Hezbollah received in recent days.

'This is a known tactic and the U.S. government has been shown to do something similar.'

The Independent said that the pagers were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah as well but within recent months. The outlet cited three security sources.

No matter the timeframe, these claims point to an interception of the pagers that allowed them to be tampered with before they made it to the Hezbollah forces.

Tech and cyber-security expert Josh Centers said that it was more likely that the assailants "intercepted the shipment and installed remote detonated explosive devices in the pagers."

"No matter who the culprit, this is a known tactic and the U.S. government has been shown to do something similar with networking equipment," he added.

Centers pointed to a 2014 report by Glenn Greenwald that explained how the NSA implanted devices in internet routers.

The outlet Clash Report claimed the pagers that exploded were manufactured by Motorola, citing a document from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Motorola Solutions is a supplier of communications products to the Israeli military and is listed on several anti-Israel websites as a company that should be boycotted.

"Motorola provides the Israeli military with a 4G cellular network and has developed encrypted communication systems for military personnel," the report said.

One video posted to X showed an explosion in a market allegedly in Lebanon from either a man's laptop bag or from a device on his hip. He appeared to be the only person injured from the detonation.

Another image showed an injured man on a moped with a wound on his side, allegedly from another exploded pager.

Security forces have said more than 1,000 were wounded, with 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical workers tending to the injured.

The most targeted areas were the towns of Ali Al-Nahri and Riyaq, according to Lebanese state media, which are Hezbollah strongholds.

The apparent attack comes after Israel claimed it had killed Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah commander, in a recent airstrike in Beirut.

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