At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 people wounded across Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon when hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah and others almost simultaneously exploded. Hezbollah has blamed Israel, where officials and the military have made no comment.

The significance of the attack quickly became clear: The pagers were being used by members of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant movement that has been fighting an undeclared war with Israel since October.

At least eight people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members - including fighters and medics - detonated simultaneously across Lebanon.