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.
The walkie-talkies which went off on Wednesday were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time that the pagers were bought. Images of the exploded walkie-talkies showed an inside panel labelled "ICOM" and "made in Japan."
Health Minister Firas Abiad said that two-thirds of the wounded needed hospitalization, adding that the scale of the incident was far greater than the thousands wounded in the massive Beirut Port explosion in 2020.
Pager displays brief text messages for users, which are sent by a central operator through telephone. Unlike mobile phones, pagers use radio waves for communication. The operator sends messages using radio frequency unique to the recipient's device, rather than the internet.
Thousand of people were wounded in Beirut’s suburbs and other parts of Lebanon after their handheld pagers exploded Tuesday, Lebanese state media and security officials said.
Tensions have escalated further between Isreal and Hezbollah after the former killed top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in retaliation to the attack at Golan Heights that killed 12 children.
The conflict in the Middle East has entered a new phase in the wake of Israel's suspected assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and an Israeli strike in Beirut against the top military commander of Iran-backed Hezbollah.
Lebanon's Hezbollah confirmed on Wednesday that senior commander Fuad Shukr was killed in an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Lebanese capital, making him the most senior figure from the group to be killed in nearly 10 months of conflict with Israel.
Late on Tuesday, Israel's military reported the killing of Shukr, identified as Hezbollah's highest-ranking commander, attributing responsibility to him for a weekend attack in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that resulted in the deaths of twelve youths.
Hamas and Iran don't want a regional war, but there is a crime that should be punished, Hamas deputy chief in Gaza Khalil Al-Hayya said in a press conference in Tehran after the killing of the Palestinian militant group's chief Ismail Haniyeh.
Israel's Tuesday strike on Beirut, Lebanon targeting a senior Hezbollah commander in retaliation for Saturday's Golan Heights attack shone the light on the decades-long conflict between the two nations. Israel blamed Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr for the Golan Heights attack that killed 12 children.
Israel carried out the strike in Beirut against Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander allegedly responsible for the Golan Heights attack on Saturday that killed 12. Israel blames the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon, which has denied any role in the attack, amid boiling regional tensions.
The Israeli military said Tuesday it struck the Lebanese capital of Beirut, targeting the militant commander allegedly behind the deaths of 12 children and teens.
The strike comes days after a rocket strike from Lebanon killed the 12 youths. Israel blames the Hezbollah militant group, which has denied any role in the attack.
In the latest travel advisory, MEA said: "In view of the recent developments in the region, all Indian nationals in Lebanon and those planning to travel to Lebanon are advised to exercise caution."
Flights at Beirut Airport have been cancelled or delayed due to disruptions in the schedule of Lebanon's Middle East Airlines (MEA). The airline has cited insurance risks as the reason for these disruptions amid escalating tensions between Israel and the armed political group Hezbollah.
The US Embassy said the morning attack by the embassy's entrance did not cause any casualties among their staff, and that Lebanese troops and embassy security mobilised quickly.
The United States has sought to prevent any widening of the conflict, including by deploying two aircraft carriers and other military assets to the region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was expected in the region this week.
The 57-year-old Saleh al-Arouri became the first senior Hamas political leader to be assassinated since Israel attacked Gaza in a devastating campaign. If Israel is found behind the attack it could mark a major escalation in the Middle East conflict, taking it beyond the Gaza Strip.
While it’s not the first time the US and Iran have traded strikes in Syria, the attack and the US response threaten to upend recent efforts to de-escalate tensions across the wider Middle East, whose rival powers have made steps toward detente in recent days after years of turmoil.
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