9 people killed, thousands injured in Hezbollah pager explosions

• No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions, but suspicion immediately fell on Israel's intelligence services.
• A Lebanese government spokesperson said the government sees Israel as responsible for the pager explosions and considers the attacks a violation of Lebanese sovereignty.
• Hezbollah accused Israel of being responsible for the explosions and said in a statement that it was going to respond. The group said that after an investigation, it places full responsibility on Israel "for this criminal aggression that also harmed civilians and caused deaths and injuries."
• An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier posted and then deleted a tweet hinting Israel was responsible for the operation. Netanyahu's office has now cautioned government ministers not to speak publicly about the situation for the time being.

The latest: Hezbollah earlier said that pagers used by members of several of its military units and institutions exploded. A source with knowledge of the incident told Axios the pagers were widely used by Hezbollah members, including senior officials in the militia.

• Reuters reported that "hundreds" of Hezbollah members were wounded, citing a security source. Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was "lightly wounded" in one explosion, Iran's embassy in Beirut said.
• Videos shared on social media from CCTV across Lebanon showed several of the explosions. Lebanese media outlets reported from hospitals across the country, where dozens of wounded people were being treated for injuries to their waist and crotch areas.

State of play: Hezbollah-affiliated media reported explosions took place in multiple regions of Lebanon on Tuesday.

• The Lebanese health ministry put hospitals on high alert to deal with casualties, and urged citizens who use pagers to throw them away.
• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously urged members of the group to stop using cellphones for security reasons.

The backdrop: In the last 48 hours, Netanyahu and senior members of his government and security services have been holding around the clock consultations about the situation in Lebanon.

• On Monday, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and warned Netanyahu that initiating a war against Hezbollah in Lebanon could have disastrous consequences.

• Netanyahu told Hochstein that Israel must act to return displaced Israelis to their homes on the northern border, which they left after Hezbollah started attacking Israel on October 8.

Zoom in: The explosions happened several hours after the Israeli Shin Bet security agency issued a statement claiming it had foiled an assassination attempt by Hezbollah against a former senior military official inside Israel.

• The Shin Bet released a photo of a sophisticated explosive device it said the militia planned to use, which it said it had captured.

What to watch: Hezbollah may feel compelled to respond to this embarrassing blow, raising the risk of further escalation.

• U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is expected to visit Israel on Sunday and Monday to discuss the growing tension with Lebanon, one Israeli official and one U.S. official said. The Pentagon declined to comment.
• In a phone call on Sunday, Austin warned his Israeli counterpart defense minister Yoav Gallant about "the devastating consequences that escalation would have on the people of Israel, Lebanon, and the broader region," the Pentagon said in a readout of the call.

Go deeper: U.S. warns Netanyahu against starting a war in Lebanon

Editor's note: This story has been updated throughout with new details, including the Lebanese health ministry's latest statement that nine people were killed and 2,800 were injured in the attacks.