Multiple locations across Lebanon including a funeral and a hospital car park were hit on Wednesday in a second consecutive day of explosions targeting the militant group Hizbullah that have rocked the fragile Arab country.
Lebanon’s health ministry said at least 20 people were killed and 450 injured in Wednesday’s attack, after 12 – including two children – died and about 3,000 were injured in a series of explosions of pagers on Tuesday, which Hizbullah blamed on Israel.
Walkie-talkies and other wireless communication devices used by the Iran-backed paramilitary group and political party were detonated across Lebanon in Wednesday’s attack.
[ Beirut pager detonations the latest instalment in how war is wagedOpens in new window ]
Al-Manar, a TV news outlet backed by Hizbullah, reported that devices exploded in the hands of people carrying them in locations including Beirut, Bekaa and Saida. The Lebanese Red Cross said it deployed more than 30 ambulances to ferry the victims of the latest explosions to hospitals around the country.
At least two explosions occurred in a crowd attending a funeral held in southern Beirut on Wednesday afternoon for four victims of Tuesday’s attack.
Eyewitnesses told The Irish Times that, after the explosions, some panicked attendees ran but the funeral continued. “I was astonished they didn’t all start running,” said one.
[ How did hundreds of pagers suddenly explode? Experts point to two types of attackOpens in new window ]
In the southern Lebanese city of Saida, another eyewitness told The Irish Times they saw a car explode. The front window of the car shattered but there was no driver inside, they said. The Lebanese news outlet, an-Nahar, said a “device” exploded in a car park in front of the American University of Beirut Medical Centre in Hamra and that Hizbullahmembers prevented the media from filming the site of the explosion. An eyewitness said the explosion was small and no one was injured.
[ Gaza: Women and children among 16 killed in latest Israeli air strikes on enclaveOpens in new window ]
Security sources in Lebanon told Reuters that the communication devices which exploded on Wednesday were brought into Lebanon by Hizbullah aboutfive months ago, around the same time as the pagers that exploded on Tuesday.
Irish Defence Forces officials are closely monitoring the security situation in Lebanon. Its 124th Infantry Battalion, comprising 379 Irish troops, is stationed in the south of the country near the border with Israel as part of the Unifil mission.
Irish personnel were unharmed in this week’s attacks, and none of the explosions are believed to have occurred in the Irish camp near At Tiri.
However, senior officers are concerned the attacks, which has been widely attributed to Israel, may have been designed to destroy the command and control structures of Hizballah ahead of a possible invasion, sources said.
If such an invasion does take place, Irish troops would find themselves in the middle of the fighting between the Israeli Defence Forces and Hizballah.
“Everyone is asking how [Israel] did this. We’re more worried about why they did it,” said a source.
Irish defence sources said the pager attack, rather than being a precursor to an invasion, may be designed to sow confusion and damage morale among Hizballah or an attempt to eliminate its leadership.
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin called “for calm and restraint, and for de-escalation on all sides” after the latest explosions.
“Over the last number of days there has been a dangerous and unacceptable escalation of violence in the Middle East, particularly in Lebanon. Hizbullah has long been a malign actor in Lebanon and the region. But the indiscriminate attacks in Lebanon yesterday and today demonstrate a blatant disregard for the lives of innocent civilians. They are also in violation of international humanitarian law,” Mr Martin said.
“They risk further escalation in an already tense situation, and increase the risk of a wider conflict in the region. This would be disastrous for everyone.”
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