Israel didn't comment on Tuesday's events, which left hundreds of members of the Hezbollah militant group injured. The two sides have exchanged fire on a nearly daily basis for much of the last year, with tensions rising over the past several weeks.
A string of medical emergencies were reported on Tuesday afternoon following the mysterious explosion of thousands of pagers used by Lebanese people, including members of the militant group.
Hezbollah and Lebanon's government were both quick to describe the events as an Israeli attack, with the former vowing to respond. Israel declined to comment. American officials said on Tuesday that the US was neither involved nor informed in advance of the incident.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said in a statement that nine people had been killed, including children, calling the episode "an extremely concerning escalation" and adding that under international humanitarian law "civilians are not a target and must be protected at all times".
If the blasts were carried out by Israel, it would mark one of the most sophisticated attacks ever executed by either of the two parties, which have been fighting in intermittent clashes for around four decades. Pagers, which have been largely obsolete in the West for several years, are popular among Hezbollah fighters, who believe they can avoid interceptions by Israeli intelligence thanks to their low-tech nature.
