Beirut blasts: Lebanon rocked by wave of hand-held radio blasts as ‘solar energy systems explode’
Lebanon has been rocked by a second wave of blasts, this time linked to hand-held radios, as reports have emerged that solar energy systems have exploded in several areas as well.
At least 20 people were killed in Wednesday’s blasts, with more than 450 injured, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
The death toll from Tuesday’s explosions stands at 12, with nearly 3,000 injured.
Following the second wave of explosions, Israel’s defence minister declared a “new phase” of the war as its army turned its attention to the northern front with Lebanon.
Middle East latest: Israel declares ‘new phase’ of war after second wave of blasts
An ambulance arrives at a hospital in Beirut after hand-held radios exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Smoke rises from a shop in Sidon after the explosions on Wednesday. Pic: Reuters
Multiple reports have come in from Lebanon saying hand-held radios used by Hezbollah have exploded across the country’s south, and in the southern suburbs of the capital.
Sky News special correspondent Alex Crawford witnessed the seeming aftermath of one of the explosions, at a funeral held in southern Beirut for four people killed in Tuesday’s pager blasts.
While Wednesday’s explosions seemingly targeted Hezbollah members, it is not clear whether or not bystanders were caught in the blasts as well.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s official news agency reported that home solar energy systems exploded in several areas of Beirut, AP news agency said.
Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, defence minister Yoav Gallant made no mention of the exploding electronic devices in Lebanon, but he praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies.
After months of war against Hamas in Gaza, “the centre of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces. We are at the start of a new phase in the war”, he said.
Many of the wounds suffered in Wednesday’s explosions were to the stomach and hands, it was reported.
This comes after nearly 3,000 people were injured and 12 were killed by pager explosions in Lebanon on Tuesday.
Two children were said to be among the dead, according to Lebanese health minister Firas Abiad.
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Hand-held radio exploded ‘because of battery’
Men carry the coffin of Mohamed Hassan Nour al-Din, who was killed on Tuesday. Pic: Reuters
The latest blasts come as Hezbollah alleged the pager explosions were part of a complex Israeli operation.
While the Iran-backed militant group and Hamas both claimed Israel was behind it, the country initially offered no comment.
Experts told Sky News the pager devices would likely have had to have been intercepted and had explosives planted inside them to execute the apparent attack.
A Taiwanese pager maker denied it had produced the devices that exploded on Tuesday.
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Gold Apollo said the devices had been instead made under licence by a company called BAC, based in Budapest, Hungary.
But BAC chief executive Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono told Sky News’ US partner NBC News: “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong.”
Then, a spokesman for Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government said the pagers involved in Tuesday’s attack had never been in Hungary – but did not deny the firm’s alleged involvement.
Israel has approved a plan to capture all of the Gaza Strip and remain there for an unspecified length of time, Israeli officials say.
According to Reuters, the plan includes distributing aid, though supplies will not be let in yet.
The Israeli official told the agency that the newly approved offensive plan would move Gaza’s civilian population southward and keep humanitarian aid from falling into Hamas’s hands.
On Sunday, the United Nations rejected what it said was a new plan for aid to be distributed in what it described as Israeli hubs.
Israeli cabinet ministers approved plans for the new offensive on Monday morning, hours after it was announced that tens of thousands of reserve soldiers are being called up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far failed to achieve his goal of destroying Hamas or returning all the hostages, despite more than a year of brutal war in Gaza.
Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza. Pic: AP
Officials say the plan will help with these war aims but it would also push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to southern Gaza, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian crisis.
They said the plan included the “capturing of the strip and the holding of territories”.
It would also try to prevent Hamas from distributing humanitarian aid, which Israel says strengthens the group’s rule in Gaza.
The UN rejected the plan, saying it would leave large parts of the population, including the most vulnerable, without supplies.
It said it “appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy”.
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More than 52,000 Palestinians have been killed since the IDF launched its ground offensive in the densely-populated territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
It followed the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw around 250 people taken hostage.
A fragile ceasefire that saw a pause in the fighting and the exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners collapsed earlier this year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate against the Houthis and their Iranian “masters” after the group launched a missile attack on the country’s main international airport.
A missile fired by the group from Yemen landed near Ben Gurion Airport, causing panic among passengers in the terminal building.
“Attacks by the Houthis emanate from Iran,” Mr Netanyahu wrote on X. “Israel will respond to the Houthi attack against our main airport AND, at a time and place of our choosing, to their Iranian terror masters.”
Israeli police officers investigate the missile crater. Pic: Reuters
The missile impact left a plume of smoke and briefly halted flights and commuter traffic at the airport. Some international carriers have cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv for several days.
Four people were lightly wounded, paramedic service Magen David Adom said.
Air raid sirens went off across Israel and footage showed passengers yelling and rushing for cover.
The attack came hours before senior Israeli cabinet ministers were set to vote on whether to intensify the country’s military operations in the Gaza Strip, and as the army began calling up thousands of reserves in anticipation of a wider operation in the enclave.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the group fired a hypersonic ballistic missile at the airport.
Iran’s defence minister later told a state TV broadcaster that if the country was attacked by the US or Israel, it would target their bases, interests and forces where necessary.
Israel’s military said several attempts to intercept the missile were unsuccessful.
Air, road and rail traffic were halted after the attack, police said, though it resumed around an hour later.
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Yemen’s Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since its war with Hamas in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and while most have been intercepted, some have penetrated the country’s missile defence systems and caused damage.
Israel has previously struck the group in Yemen in retaliation and the US and UK have also launched strikes after the Houthis began attacking international shipping, saying it was in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas.
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