Dozens of members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have been seriously wounded after pagers they use to communicate exploded, security officials say.
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group has faced in nearly a year of war with Israel.
A senior military intelligence official and an official with a Lebanese group also told the AP news agency that pagers carried by Hezbollah members were detonated.
According to AP, a Hezbollah official said that at least 150 people, including members of the group, were wounded in different parts of Lebanon when the devices exploded.
A statement from the Lebanese prime minister’s office said it was informed of “security incidents occurring in a number of regions”.
A Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital Beirut amid widespread panic.
Residents said explosions were taking place even 30 minutes after the initial blasts.
Those injured by the exploding pagers included fighters and medics from Hezbollah, the news agency said.
Groups of people huddled at the entrance of buildings to check on people they knew who may have been wounded, the Reuters journalist said.
The security source said devices were also exploding in the south of Lebanon.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has been exchanging fire with Hezbollah since last October in parallel with the Gaza war.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.