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Fear quickly spread throughout Lebanon. Some rushed to unplug their devices, while others disconnected transformers and solar systems powering their homes.
Many kept their phones at a distance, refusing to answer calls. Baby monitors, TVs, laptops and everything was viewed with suspicion. Could these be the next devices to explode unexpectedly?
After two consecutive days of attacks, in which communication devices exploded across Lebanon, killing dozens and injuring thousands, anxiety ran high.
The explosions appeared to target Hezbollah members, the powerful Shia group based in Lebanon, in what was seen as an Israeli assault. Yet, the attacks left the broader population on edge, fearing for their lives.
Lebanon’s Health Minister, Firas Al-Abiad, announced on Thursday that the death toll from two waves of explosions involving wireless communication devices has risen to 32, with thousands injured.
Thousands of pagers exploded in the capital Beirut and several areas across Lebanon on Tuesday, killing 12 people, including two children, and injuring 2,800 others.
Also, a second way of device blasts killed 20 people and injured 450 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.
The health minister said that several Arab countries also offered medical aid to Lebanon following the explosions.
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Meanwhile, Lebanese group Hezbollah accused Israel of being behind the device explosions and vowed retaliation.
Some of the blasts took place during funerals for some of the 12 people who the ministry said were killed when Hezbollah members’ pagers exploded on Tuesday, News.Az reports, citing BBC.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for that attack. Israel has not commented.
Moreover, the attacks came as Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “new phase in the war” and as an Israeli army division was redeployed to the north.
UN Secretary General António Guterres warned of the “serious risk of a dramatic escalation” and called on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint”.
“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
