At least 1,000 Hezbollah members injured in pager explosions in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) — At least 1,000 Hezbollah members were wounded when the pagers they use to communicate exploded on Tuesday, MTV local channel reported, updating previous reports of dozens of injuries by other local media outlets.
Israeli military targeted the batteries of these pagers, leading to their explosions, said the report, adding the injured were being transferred to hospitals in the capital Beirut and other regions.
There has been no report of fatalities in the incident so far, it noted.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the mobilization of all departments of the Public Health Ministry to follow up on medical care for the wounded.
The ministry’s Emergency Operations Center issued an urgent statement requesting all hospitals across Lebanon to be on high alert and enhance preparedness to meet the massive need for emergency health services.
Meanwhile, the ministry asked all citizens to discard their pager devices immediately over safety concerns. ■