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Sat, Nov 23, 2024 | Jumada al-Awwal 21, 1446 | DXB
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From pagers to walkie-talkies: Hezbollah struck by new attacks amid fears of 'wider war'; as it happened
The group accused Israel, which has so far refused to comment, as US denies involvement
People gather as smoke rises from a mobile shop in Sidon, Lebanon September 18, 2024. Reuters
Lebanon has been hit by a fresh wave of unprecedented attacks since Tuesday as a series of explosions across the country caused regional tensions to escalate to a new high.
On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of pagers owned by Hezbollah members — including fighters and medics — detonated simultaneously, killing 12 people, including two children, and wounding up to 2,800 others.
On Wednesday late afternoon, as the country was reeling from the attack, hand-held radios owned by Hezbollah members exploded across the country's south and in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.
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At least 14 people were killed in the latest attack, with more than 450 reported to be injured.
Amid fears of a 'wider war' breaking out within the region, Israel refused to comment on the attacks while the US denied any involvement in the explosions. World leaders are set to meet this Thursday and Friday in separate meetings to discuss the ongoing escalations.
Here are the key events.
11.15pm: US says it has no involvement
The White House released a statement saying the US was not involved in Tuesday or Wednesday's attacks in Lebanon.
"We still believe there is a diplomatic path forward with Lebanon."
It also added how it was "too soon to know how device blast incidents will have an effect on ceasefire deal".
10.45pm: Mideast tensions to be discussed
Senior diplomats from the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Italy will meet on Thursday in Paris to discuss the spiralling tensions in the Middle East, sources said on Wednesday.
The meeting will take place as fears grow of an all-out war engulfing the region, with conflict raging in Gaza and after two days of exploding pagers and other devices in Lebanon.
10.11pm: Ministry releases new toll
Fourteen people were killed and more than 450 wounded Wednesday when walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon, the health ministry said.
"The wave of enemy explosions that targeted walkie-talkies... killed 14 people and wounded more than 450," the ministry said in a statement.
10pm: 'New phase of war'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return tens of thousands of residents evacuated from northern border areas to their homes, amid mounting tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In a brief video statement, Netanyahu made no mention of the operation that remotely detonated thousands of pagers and hand-held radio devices used by operatives of Hezbollah, which has blamed the attack on Israel.
In separate remarks, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said more forces were being sent to the northern border, where Israel has been exchanging daily fire with the Hezbollah for months, as the war moved into a new phase.
"The 'centre of gravity' is moving north, meaning that we are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern arena," he said in remarks released by his office.
9.40pm: 'Wider war'
Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib warned the "blatant assault on Lebanon's sovereignty and security" was a dangerous development that could "signal a wider war".
9.15pm: Hospital overflowing
The influx of so many casualties all at once overwhelmed hospitals in Hezbollah strongholds.
At a Beirut hospital, doctor Joelle Khadra said "the injuries were mainly to the eyes and hands, with finger amputations, shrapnel in the eyes — some people lost their sight."
A doctor at another hospital in the Lebanese capital said he had worked through the night and that the injuries were "out of this world — never seen anything like it".
8.52pm: Initial investigation
Initial investigations shows that Lebanon pagers were booby-trapped, as per a security source.
"Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery," the official told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
8.35pm: No comment from Israel
There was no comment from Israel, which only hours before Tuesday's attacks had announced it was broadening the aims its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip to include its fight against the Palestinian group's ally Hezbollah.
The two have been trading near-daily cross-border fire since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023.
8.28pm: Hamas official issues statement
A senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rasheq, said the Israeli government was responsible for the repercussions of "this continuous attack on Lebanon", after hand-held radios used by Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon's south and in Beirut suburbs on Wednesday.
8.25pm: UN Security Council to meet
The UN Security Council will be meeting on Friday over the Lebanon pager blasts, said the council president Slovenia.
8.20pm: Where did the pagers come from?
The pager devices used in mass detonations in Lebanon were never in Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government said in a statement on Wednesday.
Taiwanese pager firm Gold Apollo said on Wednesday the model of pagers used in the attack against Hezbollah were made by Budapest-based BAC Consulting, adding it had only licensed its brand to the company and was not involved in the production of the devices.
"Hungarian authorities have established that the company in question is a trading-intermediary company, which has no manufacturing or other site of operation in Hungary," government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on Facebook.
8.03pm: Iran condemns latest attack
Iran condemned attacks in both the attacks in Lebanon that involved exploding communications devices, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in a post on the X social media platform on Wednesday.
7.54pm: Death toll rises
The Lebanon Health Ministry reported that at least nine people were killed and more than 300 injured in the second wave of device explosions.
7.21pm: Home solar energy systems explode
Lebanon's official news agency reported that home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut, as per AP.
7pm: UN chief speaks out
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that civilian objects should not be weaponised, in the wake of a deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon targeting pagers used by Hezbollah.
"I think it's very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponise civilian objects — that should be a rule that... governments should, be able to implement," Guterres said at a briefing at UN headquarters.
6.40pm: UN rights chief demands accountability for pager attacks
Those responsible for a deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon targeting paging devices used by members of the Hezbollah group "must be held to account", the UN rights chief said Wednesday.
In a statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk described the blasts as "shocking", and said their impact on civilians was "unacceptable".
6.26pm: Hand-held radios detonate
Hand-held radios used by Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah detonated late on Wednesday afternoon across the country's south and in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut.
Three people were killed in Lebanon's Bekaa region.
AFPTV footage showed people running for cover when an explosion went off during a funeral for Hezbollah militants in south Beirut on Wednesday afternoon.
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