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A day after the simultaneous explosion of multiple pagers in Beirut, Lebanon, a second wave of device explosions killed at least nine people and wounded more than 300 in Hezbollah strongholds on Wednesday (September 18, 2024), officials said, stoking fears of an all-out war in the region.
A source close to Hezbollah said walkie-talkies used by its members blew up in its Beirut stronghold, with state media reporting similar blasts in south and east Lebanon.
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Three people were killed and more than 100 wounded in the latest attacks, the Lebanese authorities said, with the Health Ministry also describing the devices targeted as walkie-talkies.
Follow our coverage of Lebanon’s pager explosions on September 17, 2024It came a day after the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of paging devices used by Hezbollah killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800 others across Lebanon, in an unprecedented attack blamed on Israel.
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Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib warned the “blatant assault on Lebanon’s sovereignty and security” was a dangerous development that could “signal a wider war”.
The influx of so many casualties all at once overwhelmed hospitals in Hezbollah strongholds.
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