Nine killed, thousands injured after mass pager explosion in Lebanon

BEIRUT: At least nine people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of wireless communication devices known as pagers in different areas in Lebanon, Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad said on Tuesday. Some 2,800 other people were also injured, including 200 in critical condition, in an initial toll, he added at a press conference in Beirut. Lebanese media suggested that the devices exploded after an Israeli breach of the communication system. In a statement, the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli cyber attack. The statement also highlighted that this serious and deliberate Israeli escalation comes alongside threats from Israel to widen the conflict with Lebanon significantly, as well as increasingly harsh Israeli rhetoric calling for further bloodshed, destruction, and devastation. Source: Emirates News Agency