Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah have reportedly been injured after handheld pagers they use to communicate exploded.

Lebanon’s state news agency said there were blasts in the southern suburbs of Beirut and several other areas. Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV also said many pagers had exploded, without identifying those hurt.

Videos and photos on social media appeared to show wounded men sitting or lying on floors and others being rushed to hospitals. Unconfirmed CCTV footage showed blasts in shops.

A Hezbollah official told Reuters news agency it constituted the “biggest security breach yet” since hostilities with Israel escalated 11 months ago in parallel with the Gaza war.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, though the events come hours after Israel’s security cabinet made the safe return of 60,000 residents displaced in the north by Hezbollah attacks an official war goal.

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