*** GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING *** Hundreds of Hezbollah Members Wounded When Pagers Explode

Hundreds of alleged members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror organization were wounded on Tuesday when their pagers, which apparently had been hacked, exploded simultaneously in Beirut and elsewhere in Lebanon.

Reuters reported:

Hundreds of members of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, including fighters and medics, were seriously wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded, a security source told Reuters.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.

A Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut amid widespread panic. Residents said explosions were taking place even 30 minutes after the initial blasts.

The Times of Israel posted social media clips showing the moments of detonation (content warning).

Similar posts appeared across social media.

The explosions of the pagers appeared to injure the individuals wearing the pagers, but not necessarily the other people nearby.

The astonishing attack occurred hours after Israel declared that the safe return of residents to its northern cities was one of four fundamental goals of the war. That, in turn, implied that Israel was preparing to go to war in Lebanon.

In addition to wounding or killing Hezbollah fighters, the attack may also disrupt the organization’s communications by forcing it to ditch the pagers and use other systems that are less efficient or even more susceptible to hacking.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.