A series of explosions were reported in the Dahieh area of Beirut on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least nine dead and over 3,000 injured.
Later reports said that "dozens" of simultaneous explosions took place in Syria as well, when pagers worn by Hezbollah terrorists exploded.
Dahieh is known as a Hezbollah stronghold.
According to Sky News, encrypted pagers used by Hezbollah for internal messaging exploded. Reuters reported that Hezbollah only began using the beeper devices in question within the last few months. Al-Hadath reported similarly.
According to Sabereen News, a diplomatic figure in Lebanon was among those injured in the explosions. Other reports said that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was among those injured. It is not clear if this is the "diplomatic figure" referred to in the Sabereen News report.
Al-Hadath noted that among the injured are senior Hezbollah commanders and their aides.
A senior Lebanese official claimed that Israel "broke into the pagers' system, and blew it up." Reuters reported "dozens" of injured.
An official announcement by Hezbollah states that "at 3:30 pm a large number of pagers exploded, many people were thrown to the ground. A security investigation is being conducted to investigate the explosions. We pray for the speedy recovery of the injured and call to be careful of spreading rumors that help the enemy. We are on the highest alert to protect Lebanon and its people."
Contrary to Hezbollah's announcement that refrained from blaming Israel, the Lebanese Minister of Information said this evening that "Israel is responsible for the explosions."
A senior official in Lebanon said that "Israel broke into the pagers and blew them up." The Wall Street Journal reported that the devices are a recent model, and they were distributed only in the last few days.
A source in Hezbollah said that some of the terrorists felt that their device was getting hot and they threw it away before it exploded. It was also reported that some devices received a message before exploding. Hospitals around the country called to donate blood. It was reported that Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured in the face and was seeking medical treatment.
The Lebanese Health Ministry responded: "We demand that the hospitals be on the highest level of alert, and increase their preparedness for admitting the victims. We call on citizens to immediately throw out their pagers." Doctors across Lebanon have been asked to rush to their hospitals.
A security source told Al Araby that hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists were injured as a result of a cyber attack and the simultaneous explosions. The site also reported that the devices which exploded simultaneously were all located in areas where Hezbollah's presence is significant, such as Beqaa and Dahieh.
According to Al-Hadath, approximately 70 people were injured by the explosions in various locations across Lebanon, and hospitals have called for blood donations.
Following the explosion, Hezbollah terrorists were ordered by the organization's leadership to abandon their pagers, for fear of additional explosions.
An official Hezbollah source said, "The pagers' explosions is a result of the greatest security breach thus far."
Israel has not responded to the incident of the blasts, nor taken responsibility for them.