“A wave of enemy explosions targeting walkie-talkies killed 20 people and injured more than 450,” the ministry said in a statement.
Lebanon’s official news agency NNA reported that the explosions took place in areas where the Shiite movement “Hezbollah” has strong positions.
On the other hand, the TV channel “Al Manar” related to “Hezbollah” reports that radios exploded in many areas of Lebanon.
A source close to Hezbollah said that a walkie-talkie used by members of the movement exploded in its stronghold in Beirut. State media reported similar explosions in southern and eastern Lebanon.
A wave of explosions of communication devices was also experienced in Lebanon on Tuesday.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in New York on Wednesday that he believed the explosions could signal a major escalation in the region.
“Obviously the logic behind detonating all these devices is that it’s done as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation,” Guterres said at a news conference about Tuesday’s events.
Already during the press conference, news about Wednesday’s explosions was received.
Everything must be done to avoid such a “dramatic escalation in Lebanon,” the UN secretary-general said.
The UN Security Council plans to hold an emergency session on Friday in response to the explosions in Lebanon, a diplomatic source said.
12 people, including two children and four medics, lost their lives when hundreds of pagers exploded simultaneously in Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said on Wednesday. An eight-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy lost their lives in Tuesday’s explosions.
Between 2,750 and 2,800 people were injured, the minister said. The condition of the 300 injured is serious.
Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company, said on Wednesday it had given its brand to the pagers that have now exploded in Lebanon, but were manufactured by a Budapest-based company.
The US newspaper “New York Times” previously reported that the pagers were ordered from the Taiwanese manufacturer “Gold Apollo”, but were rigged with explosives before arriving in Lebanon.
Zoltans Kovačs, the representative of the Hungarian government in relations with the press, announced on Wednesday that the company, which is connected with several hundred pagers that exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday, does not have a production plant in Hungary and these pagers have never been on the territory of Hungary.
“The authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trade intermediary that does not have a place of production or operation in Hungary,” an official said on the “X” platform.
“The said devices have never been in Hungary,” Kovacs said, adding that the case “does not pose a national security risk.”
“Hezbollah” blames Israel for the incident and threatens to take revenge.
2024-09-19 22:25:29