"Israel Will Certainly Receive Its Punishment": Hezbollah After Pager Attacks

Hezbollah warned Israel it would be punished after hundreds of pagers used by its members exploded in its strongholds in southern Lebanon. 

The Iran-backed group said at least two of its fighters and a young girl were among the dead. 

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said some "2,800 people were injured, about 200 of them critically" with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach.

According to media reports, Iran's ambassador in Beirut was also wounded in a pager explosion but his injuries were not serious.

The New York Times reported that Israel hid explosive material in the Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were imported to Lebanon. The material was implanted next to the battery with a switch that could be triggered remotely to detonate. Gold Apollo, however, said it did not make the pagers used in the explosion and said they were made by a company in Europe that had the right to use the Taiwanese firm's brand.

Hezbollah said it holds the Israeli enemy "fully responsible for this criminal aggression". Israel "will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression," it said in a statement.

The US, which is Israel's top arms provider and close ally, said it was "not involved" and "not aware of this incident in advance".

Hamas, which is waging war with Israel in Gaza, said the pager blasts were an "escalation" that would only lead Israel to "failure and defeat".

The pager attacks came hours after Israel announced it was broadening the aims of the Gaza war to include its fight against Hezbollah along its border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire since the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.