Beirut: Multiple explosions went off on Wednesday at the site of a funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before. Hezbollah's Al Manar TV reported explosions in multiple areas of Lebanon, and a Hezbollah official told The Associated Press that walkie-talkies used by the group exploded as part of blasts heard in Beirut. At least nine people were killed and over 100 were injured following the deadly attacks.
Smoke could be seen billowing out of a mobile phone shop in Sidon after hand-held radios used by Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah detonated late on Wednesday (September 18) afternoon across the country's south and in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, a security source and a witness said. A fire engine, ambulances and members of Lebanon's Civil Defence were at the scene in Sidon.
Smoke rises from explosions in a mobile shop in Lebanon's Sidon
Hundreds of people were wounded in fresh blasts involving communication devices used by Lebanon's Hezbollah group, a security source said. Many of the wounds were to the stomach and hands, the source said.
Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets in the first strike at its arch-foe since pager blasts wounded thousands of its members in Lebanon and raised the prospect of a wider Middle East war.
Is Israel's spy agency behind the attack?
Israel's spy agency Mossad, which has a long history of sophisticated operations on foreign soil, planted explosives inside pagers imported by Hezbollah months before Tuesday's detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters.
Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel, whose military declined to comment on the blasts. The two sides have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza conflict erupted last October, fuelling fears of a wider Middle East conflict that could drag in the United States and Iran.
The new blasts come with Lebanon still thrown into confusion and anger after Tuesday's pager bombings, which appeared to be a complex Israeli attack targeting Hezbollah members. At least 12 people were killed, including two children, and some 2,800 people wounded as hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members began detonating in several parts of Lebanon and in Syria.
New details on the operation began to emerge. The pagers were made by a company based in Hungary, another firm said Wednesday. An American official said Israel briefed the United States after the attack, in which small amounts of explosive had been hidden in the pagers. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the information publicly.
The attack, which Israel has not commented on, renewed fears that the simmering conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into all-out war. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the US is still assessing how the attack could affect efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
(With inputs from agency)
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