Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abyad said 2,750 Hezbollah members were seriously injured and at least eight were killed when pagers they used for communication exploded, according to Arab media reports.
Update 18.40
According to Arab media reports, Lebanon’s Health Minister Firas Abyad said 2,750 Hezbollah members were seriously injured and at least eight were killed when their pagers exploded. The explosions occurred in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh and in dozens of other locations across the country. Iranian media reported that the injured included Iran’s Lebanese ambassador, Mojtaba Amani.
Lebanese media outlet NBN blamed Israel for the explosion, claiming that it had used sophisticated technology to successfully disrupt Hezbollah’s pager network. Hezbollah has held Israel responsible for the explosion and said it will be punished. This is the first major incident in Beirut since the assassination of Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukr on July 30.
Following reports of the explosion, the Tel Aviv 35 Index, which was down about 0.40% today, fell sharply and is currently down 1.08% to 1997.31 points. The shekel’s representative rate was little changed today, but the Israeli currency is now weakening sharply. The shekel-to-dollar rate is up 1.14% to NIS 3.788/dollar, and the shekel-to-euro rate is up 0.97% to NIS 4.210/euro.
Published by Globes (en.globes.co.il), an Israeli business news site, on September 17, 2024.
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Lebanon explosion Credit: X Screenshot
