Second wave of Lebanon device explosions kills 20, wounds 450

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Explosions were reported in southern Lebanon, including the city of Sidon, as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley

At Least 20 people have been killed and more than 450 wounded by a second wave of explosions from wireless communication devices in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry says.

Walkie-talkies used by the armed group Hezbollah blew up in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon – areas seen as its strongholds.

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. Hezbollah blamed Israel for that attack. Israel has not commented.

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.

—BBC