Eight killed, 2,700 injured in wave of exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria

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 Hezbollah and a girl and wounding the Iranian ambassador government officials saidOfficials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack that wounded more than 2700 people at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border The Israeli military declined to commentA 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 othersLebanons health minister Firas Abiad said at least eight people were killed and 2750 wounded 200 of them criticallyIranian staterun IRNA news agency said that the countrys ambassador Mojtaba Amani was superficially wounded by an exploding pager and was being treated at a hospitalPhotos and videos from Beiruts 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 pocketsHezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the groups members not to carry cellphones saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikesLebanons 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 devicesAP photographers at area hospitals said the emergency rooms were overloaded with patients many of them with injuries to their limbs some in serious conditionThe staterun National News Agency said hospitals in southern Lebanon the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beiruts southern suburbs all areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence had called on people to donate blood of all typesThe news agency reported that in Beiruts southern suburbs and other areas the handheld pagers system was detonated using advanced technology and dozens of injuries were reportedThe 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 devicesThe 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 explodedLithium 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 590 C 1100 FThe incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing neardaily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in GazaThe 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 Hezbollahs attacks in the north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goalIsrael has killed Hamas militants in the past with booby trapped cellphones and its widely believed to have been behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack on Irans nuclear program in 2010This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever