In Lebanon and Syria, pagers explode, killing at least 8 people and injuring thousands

Hundreds of portable pagers exploded almost simultaneously in Lebanon and parts of Syria on Tuesday, killing at least eight people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and a girl, and wounding the Iranian ambassador, government and Hezbollah officials said.

Israeli authorities have blamed Israel for what appears to be a sophisticated, remote-controlled attack that has wounded more than 2,700 people at a time of rising tensions on the Lebanese border. The Israeli military declined to comment.

A 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 and then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others.

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Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said at least eight people were killed and 2,750 injured, 200 of them seriously.

Iran's official IRNA news agency said the country's ambassador, Mojtaba Amani, was lightly injured by the pager blast and was being treated in hospital.

Photos and videos from Beirut's southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the sidewalk with injuries to their hands or near their pants pockets.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously warned the group's members not to carry cellphones, saying they could be used by Israel to track their movements and carry out targeted strikes.

The Lebanese Health Ministry has called on all hospitals to be on alert to accommodate emergency patients and to keep people with pagers away. It has also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.

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AP photographers working at area hospitals said emergency rooms were overcrowded with patients, many with limb injuries, some in serious condition.

The official National News Agency said hospitals in southern Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and Beirut's southern suburbs – all areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence – had called on the population to donate blood of all types.

The news agency reported that in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas, “the portable pager system was detonated using advanced technology and dozens of injuries were reported.”

The 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 devices.”

“The enemy (Israel) is behind this security incident,” the official said, without elaborating. He added that the new pagers carried by Hezbollah members were equipped with lithium batteries that apparently exploded.

Lithium batteries, when overheated, can smoke, melt, and even catch fire. Rechargeable lithium batteries are used in consumer products ranging from cell phones and laptops to electric cars. Lithium battery fires can reach up to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

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The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing almost daily for more than 11 months, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah's ally Hamas in Gaza.

The 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 halting Hezbollah attacks in the north to allow residents to return home was now an official war aim.

Israel has killed Hamas militants in the past with booby-trapped cellphones and is widely suspected of being behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack on Iran's nuclear program in 2010.