CAIRO, September 17. /TASS/. Hamas has put responsibility for the potential consequences of a mass pager explosion in Lebanon killing several people on Israel.

In a statement posted on its Telegram channel, Hamas said that it "places full responsibility for the consequences of this terrorist aggression on the [Israeli] occupational government."

According to Hamas, "this terrorist operation was conducted as part of [Israel’s] general aggression against the region and with America’s support as it is covering the Israeli government’s actions." This action "is a challenge to all laws and rules" and will "only escalate tension" in the region, it added.

According to earlier reports, pager explosions occurred almost simultaneously across Lebanon. The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah placed responsibility for the blasts on Israel and warned about a "fair retaliation." It was initially suggested that the detonations had been a result of a cyberattack. Reuters, however, said that the pagers were brought to Lebanon for Hezbollah members during several recent months. Lebanese acting Health Minister Firass Abiad said that the blasts claimed at least eight loves and left around 2,800 injured. Israel has provided no comments on the incident.