BY ANTHONY FRANCE

 

BEIRUT, 20 Sept. - (ANA) - At least three people are dead and 100 injured after hand-held radios used by Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah detonated late on Wednesday afternoon across the country's south and in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, a security source and a witness said.

 

At least one of the blasts took place near a funeral organised by Iran-backed Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of pagers used by the group exploded across the country.

 

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reports three people have been killed by exploding “devices” in the town of Sohmar, in the southern Bekaa Valley.

 

Around 100 were wounded in the latest blasts involving communication devices used by Hezbollah, a security source tells the Reuters news agency.

 

Many of the wounds were to the stomach and hands, the source added.

 

NNA also reported several explosions of old “pager devices” elsewhere in Beirut, southern Lebanon, and the eastern city of Baalbek, which took place during several funeral processions for Hezbollah members.

 

In Baalbek, several wounded were rushed to the hospital, while one device in a Beirut southern suburb exploded inside an apartment.

 

Large plumes of smoke can be seen from the building in a photo circulated by the NNA.

 

 

The Lebanese military urged people not to gather in areas where the incidents are taking place as medical teams try to reach the area.

 

 

Meanwhile, Hezbollah said on Wednesday it had attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets in the first strike at its arch-foe since pager blasts wounded thousands of its members in Lebanon and raised the prospect of a wider Middle East war.

 

 

The Israeli foreign ministry has reported air raid alarms sounding in northern Israel.

 

 

Smoke could be seen over western Galilee.

 

 

In a statement published on Telegram Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli's artillery positions in northern Israel “with a volley of rockets”, Reuters reports.

 

 

Since October, there's been repeated exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israelis.

 

 

More than 8,000 rockets have been fired at northern Israel and the Israeli army retaliated with air strikes, tank and artillery fire against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon.

 

 

Israel’s Mossad spy agency has been blamed for planting explosives inside thousands of pagers imported by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before they detonated.

 

 

The operation was an unprecedented Hezbollah security breach that saw thousands of pagers detonate across Lebanon, killing 12 people - including two children - and wounding nearly 2,750 others, including the group’s fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.

 

 

A Lebanese security source said the pagers were from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company said in a statement it did not manufacture the devices. It said they were made by a company called BAC which has a licence to use its brand, but gave no more details.

 

 

Iran-backed Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel, whose military declined to comment on the blasts.   - (ANA) -

 

 

AB/ANA/20 September 2024  - - - - -