More device explosions were reported in Lebanon on Wednesday, a day after pagers belonging to Hezbollah members detonated across the country, killing at least 12 people and injuring nearly 3,000, state media reported.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, or NNA, “a number” of the injured had been taken to hospitals in the southern suburbs of Beirut after their wireless pagers exploded.
At least three people were killed in the explosion of the device on Wednesday, said NNA. Lebanon’s health ministry said more than 100 were injured by exploding electronic devices across the country, according to the Associated Press.
Al-Manar, a Hezbollah-affiliated news agency, reported that wireless devices were exploding in the hands of people across the country.
U Associated Press reported that his own reporters were in Beirut at a funeral for four people killed by the explosion of pagers the day before when they heard “multiple explosions at the site.”
Ambulances arrived at the scene, AP reporters said.
The Lebanese Red Cross said it deployed 30 ambulances across southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley in response to the device’s explosions.
Two US officials said Israel was behind the Hezbollah attack with explosive pagers on Tuesday. The militant group and Lebanese officials also blamed Israel, which did not take responsibility publicly.
It was unclear why Israel carried out the attack when it did and whether it was an opportunistic operation or something more strategic that would be followed by other actions, the officials said.
Lebanon’s Public Health Minister Dr. Firas Abiad said 12 people were killed in Tuesday’s attack, including an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. More than 2,700 were injured, with an estimated 10% in critical condition, according to the National News Agency.
Also on Wednesday, the Israeli commander said that troops near the border were “on the edge of readiness”.
“The mission is clear – we are determined to change the security reality as soon as possible,” said the head of the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces, Major Gen. Ori Gordin
Hezbollah, an Iranian militia and a political party in Lebanon, has exchanged fire with Israel since October as it aligned with Hamas following the Palestinian group’s attack on October 7.
International officials have worried for months that exchanges between Lebanon and Israel’s shared border could prolong the Israel-Hamas war and further destabilize the region.
Thousands of civilians in southern Lebanon and northern Israel have been displaced by the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Monday that he and his cabinet have updated their list of war targets to include the safe return of its residents to the north.
Officials in the country have also warned the United States, its closest ally, that “military action” would likely be the only way to deal with growing hostilities with Hezbollah.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for updates.