Lebanese soldiers and firefighters gather outside a mobile shop after what is believed to be the result of a walkie-talkie exploding inside it, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on September 18, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP
A day after the simultaneous explosion of multiple pagers in Beirut, Lebanon, a second wave of device explosions killed at least nine people and wounded more than 300 in Hezbollah strongholds on Wednesday (September 18, 2024), officials said, stoking fears of an all-out war in the region.
A source close to Hezbollah said walkie-talkies used by its members blew up in its Beirut stronghold, with state media reporting similar blasts in south and east Lebanon.
Also Read | Pager attack on Hezbollah: A low-tech gadget blitz redraws the contours of the Israel-Iran conflict
Three people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the latest attacks, the Lebanese authorities said, with the Health Ministry also describing the devices targeted as walkie-talkies.
Follow our coverage of Lebanon’s pager explosions on September 17, 2024
It came a day after the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of paging devices used by Hezbollah killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others across Lebanon, in an unprecedented attack blamed on Israel.
Also Read | Thousands injured in deadly pager explosions across Lebanon and Syria – Key facts
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”.
The influx of so many casualties all at once overwhelmed hospitals in Hezbollah strongholds.
Follow LIVE updates here:
-
September 18, 2024 23:22
Death toll in latest explosions rises to 14, more than 450 injured — Reuters
-
September 18, 2024 23:02
Israel says ‘centre of gravity’ of war moving north
The Defence Minister of Israel said the war’s “centre of gravity” was moving north, where Israel has clashed daily with Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“The centre of gravity is moving northward resources are being allocated (to this front),” Yoav Gallant said during a visit to an Israeli air base, according to a statement issued by his office.
“We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance on our part.”
– AFP
-
September 18, 2024 22:35
Initial probe shows Lebanon pagers booby-trapped: security source
A preliminary investigation has found hundreds of pagers that exploded across Lebanon yesterday, killing at least 12 people and wounding up to 2,800, had been booby-trapped, a security source said today.
“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.
– AFP
-
September 18, 2024 22:14
Blinken says surprise escalations threaten to derail Gaza cease-fire talks
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expresses frustration at surprise escalations that threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza, noting that the United States is assessing a deadly attack that caused pagers used by Hezbollah to explode in Lebanon.
Blinken spoke to reporters in Cairo, where he travelled for talks on the cease-fire negotiations and U.S.-Egyptian relations. While Israel has not publicly spoken on responsibility in the pager attack, a U.S. official has said Israel briefed the United States after the explosions.
– AP
-
September 18, 2024 22:11
U.N. Security Council to meet over Lebanon pager blasts
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday over the pager blasts in Lebanon targeting militant group Hezbollah, said Slovenia’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, president of the 15-member council for September.
The meeting was requested by Algeria on behalf of Arab states, he said.
Earlier today, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the pager blasts targeting Hezbollah indicate “a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”
“Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation,” he told reporters ahead of the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly.
He also said that it was very important not to weaponize civilian objects. Guterres “urges all concerned actors to exercise maximum restraint to avert any further escalation,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric later said in a statement.
– Reuters
-
September 18, 2024 21:54
Senior Hamas official says Israel is responsible for repercussions of ‘continuous attack’
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 today.
– Reuters
-
September 18, 2024 21:39
Iran condemns attacks in Lebanon involving exploding communications devices
Iran condemned attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday that involved exploding communications devices, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in a post on X.
– Reuters
-
September 18, 2024 21:34
Nine dead, at least 300 injured in new wave of Lebanon device blasts: Ministry
Nine people were killed and over 300 wounded after the walkie-talkies explosion across Lebanon, the Health Ministry said, a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, killing 12 and wounding 2,800.
“The new wave of walkie-talkie explosions… killed nine people and wounded more than 300,” the Ministry said in a statement.
– AFP
-
September 18, 2024 21:30
Solar energy systems explode in several areas of Beirut
Lebanon’s official news agency reports that home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut.
– AP
-
September 18, 2024 21:28
Explosions witnessed at Beirut funeral for Hezbollah members and a child killed in pager attack
Lebanon’s Health Ministry says one person was killed and over 100 were wounded on Wednesday by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of country.
– AP
-
September 18, 2024 21:12
Exploding devices kill three in east Lebanon: state media
Lebanon’s state-run media said exploding devices killed three people in the east today, with a medical source saying 15 more were wounded, with similar blasts reported in other Hezbollah strongholds.
“Three martyrs fell after devices exploded in the town of Sohmor,” the state-run National News Agency said, with a hospital source in the city of Baalbek telling AFP 15 people had been wounded after walkie talkies exploded.
More than 100 people are also reportedly wounded in the attack.
– AFP
Published – September 18, 2024 09:13 pm IST
