According to Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad, the death toll from two waves of wireless communication device explosions in Lebanon rose to 37 and thousands were injured
Hezbollah accuses Israel of being behind communication device blasts in Lebanon
Thousands of pagers exploded in the capital Beirut and several areas across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including two children, and injuring 2,323 others. A second way of device blasts killed 25 people and injured 608 others on Wednesday.
“The explosions showed the unity of the Lebanese people in all areas in the face of the incident,” Al-Abiad told a press conference in Beirut.
He said hundreds of doctors and medics rushed to provide help to the victims of the blasts, adding that 287 injured people remained in intensive care units.
The health minister said that several Arab countries also offered medical aid to Lebanon following the explosions.
Lebanese group Hezbollah accused Israel of being behind the device explosions and vowed retaliation.
There has been no Israeli comment on the blasts, which came amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
According to a report, Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said 37 people were killed and 2,931 wounded in a new toll after hand-held devices used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon, in attacks blamed on Israel.
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Abiad said 25 people were killed on Wednesday and 12 on Tuesday, updating an earlier toll of 32 dead overall.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said 20 of its members were killed, with a source close to the group telling AFP on Thursday that they had died in walkie-talkie blasts blamed on Israel the day before.
“The 20 Hezbollah members were killed by walkie-talkie explosions” across Lebanon on Wednesday, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
Earlier Wednesday, the health ministry said the second wave of explosions of electronic devices in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon killed 20 people and left more than 450 people wounded.
Wednesday’s blasts came a day after the simultaneous detonation of pagers 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.
Israel did not comment on the incidents.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is due to give his first televised speech since the attacks on Thursday afternoon.
