Lebanon is rocked again by exploding devices as Israel declares a 'new phase' of war

BEIRUT — Walkie-talkies and solar equipment exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon on Wednesday in an apparent second wave of attacks targeting devices a day after pagers used by Hezbollah blew up, state media and officials for the militant group said.

At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 wounded in the second wave, the Health Ministry said.

The attacks — which were widely believed to be carried out by Israel targeting Hezbollah but also killed civilians — hiked fears that the two sides’ simmering conflict could escalate into all-out war.

Speaking to Israeli troops Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.”

He made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”

In Wednesday’s attacks, several blasts were heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene.

An AP photographer in the southern coastal city of Sidon saw a car and a mobile phone shop damaged after devices exploded inside of them. A girl was hurt in the south when a home solar energy system blew up, the state news agency reported.

The new blasts hit a country still roiling with confusion and anger after Tuesday’s pager bombings, which killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded some 2,800 others.

The second wave also deepens concern over the potentially indiscriminate casualties caused in the attacks, in which hundreds of blasts went off wherever the holder of the pager happened to be — in homes, cars, at grocery stores and in cafes, often with family or bystanders nearby.

While the pagers were used by Hezbollah members, there was no guarantee who was holding the device at the time it was detonated. Also, many of the casualties were not Hezbollah fighters, but members of the group’s extensive civilian operations mainly serving Lebanon’s Shiite community.

At least two health workers were among those killed Tuesday. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, charity workers, teachers and office administrators work for Hezbollah-linked organizations, and an unknown number had pagers.

Mary Ellen O’Connell, a professor of law and international peace studies at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said booby-traps are banned under international law. “Weaponizing an object used by civilians is strictly prohibited,” she said.

The U.N. human rights chief, Volker Türk, called for an independent investigation into the mass explosions, saying, “The fear and terror unleashed is profound.”

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Iran-backed Hezbollah — Lebanon’s strongest armed force — has exchanged fire with Israel’s military almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led assault in southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza.

Since then, hundreds have been killed in strikes in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, while tens of thousands on each side of the border have been displaced. Hezbollah said its strikes are in support of its ally, Hamas.

Israeli leaders issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must stop the exchange of fire to allow people to return to homes near the border.

Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is expected to deliver a major speech on Thursday.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. is still assessing how the attacks in Lebanon could affect efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. He expressed frustration Wednesday at surprise escalations that threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza.

Blinken spoke to reporters in Cairo, where he traveled for talks on the cease-fire negotiations and U.S.-Egyptian relations. While Israel has not publicly spoken on responsibility in the pager attack, a U.S. official has said Israel briefed the United States after the explosions.

The pager bombings appeared to be a complex operation months in the making, with many experts believing Israel infiltrated the supply chain and rigged hundreds of pagers with explosives before they were imported to Lebanon. But little evidence has emerged so far.

Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese firm, said it authorized a Hungary-based company, BAC Consulting KFT, to use its name on devices delivered to Hezbollah. But a Hungarian government spokesman said Wednesday the pagers delivered to Hezbollah were never in Hungary and that BAC Consultants merely acted as an intermediary.

Photos: Hezbollah hit by a wave of exploding pagers and blames Israel