Raw anger and real fear on streets of Lebanon after deadly pager and radio blasts
There’s raw anger and real fear on the streets of Lebanon after two days of multiple explosions involving communication devices.
Less than 24 hours after the country was plunged into a major emergency with more than a dozen killed and nearly three thousand casualties being admitted to 90 hospitals, there was panic and deaths again.
There were numerous explosions, this time involving two-way radios being used by primarily Hezbollah operatives, security and supporters.
Thousands had gathered in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to attend funerals for four people killed during the pager explosions just one day earlier – among them a young boy.
But barely had the funerals begun and as mourners were just beginning to pay their condolences, we heard the sound of an explosion a short distance away followed by shouts and screams.
Mourners attend the funeral of people who were killed amid the detonation of pagers across Lebanon Pic: Reuters
As we made our way to the site of the explosion, people were running in the opposite direction. We saw a crying mother holding onto her young child who was also sobbing, hurriedly trying to make their way out of the area.
A gaggle of men huddled together, one of them had blood smeared down his arm. An ambulance roared through the crowd to pick up the casualties, although as the funeral cortege continued undeterred, it was difficult to determine the numbers amidst the mayhem.
We spotted Hezbollah officials gathering handheld radios and taking them out of the area, their batteries removed.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Fresh blasts heard at funeral for Hezbollah members
Much of our filming was curtailed by angry, aggressive men wearing all black clothes who appeared to be Hezbollah officials or supporters, although none of them identified themselves.
Many insisted we did not film what was happening in front of us by putting their hands in front of the camera lens and on one occasion attempting to snatch the mobile phone I was broadcasting on. As my colleague Chris Cunningham remonstrated with him, his mobile phone was taken and whisked away.
An image appears to show an exploded walkie-talkie inside a house, in Baalbek, east Lebanon Pic: AP
There is a lot of anxiety on display here and that is translating into red-rage anger.
‘Silence speaks volumes’
The Sky News team has been speaking to those close to the Hezbollah inner circle and there is both embarrassment and concern that the fighting group’s communications network has been so demonstrably compromised.
You won’t find many here who don’t view Israel as responsible for these attacks.
The Israeli authorities have neither confirmed or denied their involvement but as my Sky colleague Alistair Bunkall put it: “The silence speaks volumes.”
Many within Hezbollah fear – much the same way as the UN secretary general has been speculating – that this widespread attack on the group’s communications may be a prelude to a more serious attack, even a ground invasion.
But doing the social media rounds are also plenty of theories that this may be Israel’s way of forcing Hezbollah to back down.
The atmosphere in Lebanon will not have been improved on hearing the Israeli prime minister, hours after the radio explosions, vow to return his citizens to their homes in north Israel.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Israel declares ‘new phase’ of war
About 90,000 Israelis have been displaced from the area because of almost daily shelling by Hezbollah fighters along the disputed border.
Israel’s cross border attacks into Lebanon have similarly displaced large numbers of Lebanese from its southern border – an estimated 120,000.
Read more:
How does a pager explode?
Pager explosions will cause immense embarrassment and sow chaos
Israel’s defence minister will have also sent temperatures rising with his declaration that they were entering a “new phase” of the war and were going to concentrate on the north, alongside Gaza and retrieving their hostages.
A mixture of fragments and blood stains
Where one of the two-way radios had exploded in the suburb of Dahiyeh, the street was a mixture of fragments and blood stains.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
A car bonnet had been left speckled with blood and we spotted blood smeared inside on the seats.
They appeared to be small explosions but by the end of the day, the death toll was still rising, outstripping those killed 24 hours earlier.
Along with the rising number of dead, there was a definite increase in fear and worry over the safety of any and every communications device.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lebanon: How did the blasts happen?
The UN Security Council will discuss the dramatic turn of events at a meeting this Friday.
But earlier on Wednesday, the Lebanese health minister Firass Abiad told us where he saw the blame.
“This is an act of aggression against non combatants… you know, community people,” he said.
“Even if some of them [victims] are combatants, this is a non-discriminatory attack….and the use of this non-discriminatory force or attacks which, will clearly affect civilians, is in my mind against international law.”
Alex Crawford reports from Beirut with cameraman Jake Britton, specialist producer Chris Cunningham and Lebanon team Jihad Jneid, Hwaida Saad and Sami Zein.
In a stark and direct intervention, Martin Griffiths, the former UN humanitarian chief, has described the situation in Gaza as genocide.
The statement, made during an interview I conducted with Griffiths on The World, marks one of the most pointed accusations yet from a figure known to be deeply embedded in the world of international politics and diplomacy.
“I think now we’ve got to the point this is unequivocal. Of course it is genocide. Just as it is weaponising aid.
“We don’t need to look behind ourselves to see that’s the case. That should encourage us even more because we, of course, all doubted whether it would come to that level of definition.
“We all doubted whether famine is actually there. I think starvation is killing people. That’s bad enough. We don’t have to worry about famine, which is obviously there lurking in the shadows.
“Also, genocide… of course that’s what has happened. We only need to look at the statements made. Prime Minister Netanyahu has the virtue of being very clear about his objectives.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ex-Israeli aide dismisses genocide claims
His choice of words is extraordinary – not just for its gravity, but because it’s Griffiths who is saying it.
A veteran diplomat with decades of experience navigating complex international crises, Griffiths is known for his calm and thoughtful demeanour – not for inflammatory language.
For him to use the term “genocide” in a television interview signals a significant shift in how some within the international system are now interpreting events on the ground in Gaza – 20 months since Israel launched its war.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘We carry our coffins with us’
Read more:
How Gaza’s new aid rollout system collapsed into chaos
Israel’s illegal settlements – and those fighting back
The timing is also noteworthy.
Just weeks earlier, Tom Fletcher, another respected former British ambassador and current UN humanitarian chief, came close to using the phrase during a UN Security Council session.
👉 Click here to listen to The World With Richard Engel And Yalda Hakim wherever you get your podcasts 👈
He said: “What more evidence do you need now? Will you act decisively to prevent genocide and to ensure respect for international humanitarian law? Or will you say instead: ‘we did all we could?'”
Whilst he stopped short, his tone showed a clear change in how leading international figures now view the direction of Israeli military operations in Gaza; staggering civilian deaths, and the statements made by Israeli officials prosecuting this war.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
In full: The World with Yalda Hakim
Griffiths’ remarks now go a step further.
It comes as the British government continues to grapple with public anger over the mounting civilian toll – and faces growing scrutiny over its continued arms exports to Israel.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Children ‘should be treated in UK’
This latest statement by Griffiths doesn’t just reflect humanitarian concern.
As a former ambassador, he knows the weight his words carry.
And with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsening, his warning challenges Israel’s allies to ask deeply uncomfortable questions.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Lawyers representing Israel against accusations brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice last year – accusing its actions in Gaza of amounting to genocide – called the claims “unfounded”, “absurd” and amounting to “libel”.
They went on to say Israel respected international law and had a right to defend itself.
World
More than 40% of Europe slides into drought, including pockets of Greece, southern Italy and Spain
Well over a third of Europe, including parts of holiday destinations like Spain, Greece and Italy, are now in drought.
March was Europe’s warmest on record – a trend driven by climate change – and also saw below average rain across large parts of the north and east of the continent.
Now 41.2% of Europe finds itself in some form of drought, according to the latest update from the EU’s European Drought Observatory, which covers 11 to 20 May.
It is most acute in pockets of south-eastern Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Albania, where the strongest “alert” category has been issued, as well as parts of Poland and Ukraine.
But broad stretches of northern and eastern Europe through France, Germany, Poland and Ukraine also drying up, sowing concerns about crop yields.
On Thursday, the UK’s Environment Agency officially declared a drought in North West England after river and reservoir levels were licked away by a dry spring.
More than 40% of Europe was in drought as of 11-20 May 2025. Pic: CEMS / EDO
Heat was record high in March in Europe. The image on the right shows the south of the continent was much wetter than average and the north much drier. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service
Greece tourism is ‘unsustainable’
In Greece, “overtourism” from millions flocking to its beaches adds further pressure to water supplies, said Nikitas Mylopoulos, professor of water resource management at Thessaly University.
“The tourist sector is unsustainable and there is no planning… leading to a tremendous rise in water demand in summer,” he told Sky News.
“The islands have an intense problem of drought and water scarcity.”
Islands like Santorini and Mykonos are now forced to ship in water from Athens or desalination plants to provide for showers and swimming pools. In the past, many residents could make do with local methods like rainwater harvesting.
But agriculture is a far bigger drain on the country’s water, with waste rife and policies lacking, said Prof Mylopoulos.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
‘Tropical nights’ soar in European hotspots
Wildfire season could be ‘particularly difficult’
This year’s hot and dry conditions are also fuelling the risk of yet another fierce wildfire season in Greece.
Last week civil protection minister Ioannis Kefalogiannis warned of a “particularly difficult” summer.
He said a record 18,000 firefighters have been deployed and the drone fleet almost doubled in a bid to combat fires being fuelled by a hotter climate.
Droughts and their causes are more complicated, but scientists at World Weather Attribution say global warming is exacerbating drought in some parts of the world, including around the Mediterranean.
A drought was declared in northwest England on Thursday. Pic: Reuters
They found the drought of 2022, which spread across the Northern Hemisphere, was made 20 times more likely by climate change.
The International Hydropower Association said drought and intense rain in Europe are pushing power plants to “operate at the limits of their existing equipment”.
Extreme weather costs the EU about €28.3bn (£23.8bn) in lost crops and livestock per year, according to insurance firm Howden.
Hayley Fowler, professor of climate change impacts at Newcastle University, said: “With global warming, we expect more prolonged and intense droughts and heatwaves punctuated by more intense rainfall, possibly causing flash floods.
“In recent years, we have experienced more of these atmospheric blocks, causing record heat and persistent drought, as well as severe flooding in other locations in Europe.
“Recent months have been no different, with prolonged dry conditions and heatwaves in northern Europe and floods in southern Europe.”
At least 117 people have died and others are still missing after heavy flooding in Nigeria, an emergency official said.
Authorities initially said 21 people had died but this figure has today risen significantly.
Media reports quoting local government officials said a dam collapse has worsened the situation.
Ibrahim Hussaini, head of Niger State Emergency Management Agency, said some 3,000 houses were underwater in two communities.
Videos posted on social media show floodwater sweeping through neighbourhoods, with rooftops barely visible above the brown currents. One clip shows a tanker floating through a town.
A tanker is swept away by floodwaters
The chairman of the Mokwa local government area suggested poor infrastructure has worsened the impact of the flooding.
Jibril Muregi has appealed to the government to start “long overdue” construction of waterways in the area under a climate resilience project.
Water appears to be flowing over a dam behind the town
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
In a similar occurrence last September, torrential rains and a dam collapse in Nigeria’s northeastern Maiduguri caused severe flooding, leaving at least 30 people dead and displacing millions.
Nigeria is prone to flooding during the rainy season, which began in April – and flooding is becoming more common and extreme as the climate warms.
Read more:
More than 40% of Europe slides into drought
How melting ice is boosting Russia’s military
Hotter air is thirstier and can hold more moisture – about 7% more for every 1C warmer – meaning it unleashes heavier flooding when it rains.
Violent rain, which killed hundreds of people in Nigeria during 2022, was made at least 80 times more likely and 20% more intense by climate change, analysis by World Weather Attribution found.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway