At least eight persons have died, and over 2,700 were seriously wounded following a wave of explosions that rocked the pagers carried by Hezbollah members on Tuesday, according to Lebanese health minister Firass Abiad.

It was a chaotic Tuesday for Hezbollah members in Lebanon after their pagers exploded, leading to mangled bodies and streaks of thick smoke wherever the pagers —the source of the explosion— were found.

Lebanese authorities have accused Israel of masterminding the attack, describing it as “criminal Israeli aggression” and a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”

The pagers, which were special communication devices used to share intelligence among the Hezbollahs, were fortified with strong encryptions that made it nearly impossible for messages to be intercepted by non-members.

The devices beeped for three seconds before exploding, The New York Times cited officials familiar with the matter as saying.

Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanese foreign minister, said the attack had escalated tensions between his country and Israel, stressing that Lebanon would retaliate.

“If Israel thinks by this that they’re going to return their displaced people from the north of Israel, they are mistaken. This escalates this war,” The Times cited Mr Bou Habib as saying. “Hezbollah are definitely going to retaliate in a big way. How? Where? I don’t know.”