Death toll from device explosions in Lebanon rises to 37, injuries near 3,000

The death toll in explosions targeting pagers and handheld radios across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday has risen to 37, whereas the injuries came at 2,931, Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said on Thursday, Reuters reports. Tuesday's pager explosions killed 12 people, with 2,323 others injured, Abiad told a news conference. Meanwhile, the death toll in explosions of wireless communication devices across the country on Wednesday afternoon rose to 25, with injuries up to 608, Abiad said. Lebanon's Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued a circular on Thursday banning "all airlines operating at (Beirut) Rafic Hariri (International) Airport from transporting any pager or walkie-talkie device." The Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations stated in a letter to the UN Security Council that preliminary investigations by the Lebanese government found that the communication devices involved in the explosions had been implanted with explosives before arriving in the country. It was reported that someone triggered the detonations by sending electronic messages to these devices. The letter said that the attacks undermined diplomatic efforts aimed at calming the conflicts in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon. Ahead of an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the explosions in Lebanon, the Lebanese side called on the Security Council to condemn the attacks. Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib is expected to attend the meeting. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border have been escalating since Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in support of Hamas. Israel retaliated with artillery fire into southeastern Lebanon. The conflict resulted in hundreds of deaths in Lebanon, and Hezbollah claimed its attacks inflicted casualties in Israel. The recent explosions added a new layer to the ongoing 11-month clashes between Israel and Hezbollah, marked by deadly Israeli airstrikes and Hezbollah's attacks on northern Israel. Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel has entered a "new phase" in its conflict with Hezbollah. No Israeli officials, including Gallant, have claimed responsibility for the explosions, which Hezbollah attributed to Israel.