Reports: Hezbollah members injured across Lebanon by exploding communications device

Tel-Aviv [Israel]September 17 (ANI/TPS): According to Arab media reports, numerous Hezbollah members were injured in different areas of Lebanon when their communication devices exploded.

About 70 people were injured, but the number is likely higher. Lebanese sources quoted by Sky News in Arabic claim the explosions were the result of Israeli hacking attacks.

There has been no comment from Israeli officials so far.

According to Arab media reports, around 1,000 Hezbollah members have been injured by exploding pagers and radios.

According to reports, Hezbollah members in Syria were also injured in the apparently simultaneous explosions. The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured.

Social media is awash with videos showing the explosions, their aftermath and the chaos in Lebanese hospitals. Unconfirmed Arab media reports attribute the explosions to an Israeli cyberattack.

In particular, Israel's security cabinet updated its official war aims on Monday evening to include the safe return of 60,000 evacuated northern residents to their homes.

Nearly 60,000 Israelis were forced to flee their homes near the Lebanese border when Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones in October. Hezbollah leaders have said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. The attacks killed 26 civilians and 20 soldiers on the Israeli side.

According to Israel's Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency, Hezbollah fired 1,307 rockets into northern Israel in August, an average of 40 rockets per day. Since October 8, Hezbollah has fired more than 6,700 rockets and drones.

Israeli politicians are calling for the disarmament and withdrawal of Hezbollah from southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Israel's three other official war aims are to destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities, to release all hostages, and to ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel.

At least 1,200 people were killed and 252 Israelis and foreigners taken hostage in Hamas' attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 were declared dead. Hamas has also been holding two Israeli civilians captive since 2014 and 2015, as well as the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014. (ANI/TPS)