Hezbollah Attacks Escalate After Explosive Pager Blasts

Hezbollah's handheld radios detonated across Lebanon, escalating tensions with Israel following similar pager explosions. Three people died, and dozens were injured. The blasts disrupted Hezbollah, which retaliated against Israel. The incident raises concerns over a wider Middle East conflict. The UN calls for an investigation into the events.

Hezbollah's handheld radios detonated across Lebanon's south and Beirut's suburbs on Wednesday, exacerbating tensions with Israel just a day after the group's pagers triggered similar explosions. The latest blasts resulted in three fatalities and numerous injuries, the state news agency reported.

One of the blasts occurred near a funeral for those killed in the prior day's pager explosions, indicating the escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah, thrown into disarray by the attacks, retaliated by launching rockets at Israeli artillery positions, igniting fears of a broader Middle East conflict.

According to a security source, both the handheld radios and pagers were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago. Israel's Mossad allegedly planted explosives inside the pagers, leading to Tuesday's detonations that wounded nearly 3,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for an independent investigation.

(With inputs from agencies.)