Hezbollah vows to exact revenge against Israel after explosive pager bomb attack in Lebanon and Syria which killed at least nine people and left thousands wounded

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel.

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of 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 that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal.

Israel has killed Hamas militants in the past with booby trapped cellphones and it’s widely believed to have been behind the Stuxnet computer virus attack on Iran’s nuclear programme in 2010.

Both Hezbollah and Lebanon’s government have squarely blamed Israel for the attack. Though Israel has not yet commented on the matter, allies including the United States sought to distance themselves from the attack.

Hezbollah said in a statement:

‘We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression,’ adding that Israel ‘will certainly receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression’.

In a second statement, the terror group added

After examining all the facts, current data, and available information about the sinful attack that took place this afternoon, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that targeted civilians too.

Prominent Hezbollah politician Ali Ammar spoke to the Associated Press after his son, Mahdi, was killed.

This is a new Israeli aggression against Lebanon. The resistance will retaliate in a suitable way at the suitable time.

Lebanon’s prime minister Najib Mikati condemned ‘criminal Israeli aggression’ and called the attack ‘a serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty’.

Here’s a quick rundown of the attacks carried out on Hezbollah terrorists yesterday:

• More than 300 people were rushed to hospital in a critical condition after pagers used by proscribed terror group Hezbollah detonated over a period of an hour yesterday afternoon.
• The detonators activated at around 3.30pm local time (1.45pm UK time) on Tuesday after receiving a message that purported to be from Hezbollah’s top brass.
• Widespread panic and chaotic scenes were seen across Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon, while in neighbouring Syria 14 people were injured by the blasts, according to Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
• Victims were seen writhing in agony with hideous injuries to their faces, abdomens and even their groins in harrowing images and videos shared to social media and published on Lebanese networks.
• Among those reportedly killed were two girls, aged eight aged eight and ten, and the son of a Lebanese MP. Iran said its ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, also sustained injuries to his face and hand.
• Both Hezbollah and Lebanon’s government have squarely blamed Israel for the attack. Though Israel has not yet commented on the matter, allies including the United States sought to distance themselves from the attack.

Firstly, let’s bring you our current top story on the MailOnline website which reports Israel was involved in the deadly pager bomb attack

by Perkin Amalaraj and Sam Greenhill

Israeli spies were behind the pager bomb attack that killed nine, including two young girls, and left more than 2,750 people wounded across Lebanon.

The New York Times reported that Hezbollah’s pagers were compromised in a joint operation between Mossad, Israel’s shadowy intelligence agency, and the IDF.

The security service and military are said to have filled the pagers ordered by Hezbollah with one or two ounces of explosive material along with a detonating switch prior to their delivery.

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the pager bomb attack which targeted Hezbollah terrorists across Lebanon and Syria.

At least nine people were killed and 2,750 wounded, 300 critically, following a series of detonations of the hand-held devices on Tuesday afternoon.

Hezbollah immediately blamed Israel and vowed to exact revenge while the New York Times reported the pagers (pictured above) were compromised in a joint operation between Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and the IDF.

We will bring you all the developments and reaction throughout the day as tensions between Israel and Hezbollah threaten to intensify further as both sides edge closer to war.