Lebanon Reels from Deadly Explosions as Israel Shifts Focus North
Lebanon is reeling from a wave of renewed coordinated attacks that saw communication devices explode across the country, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 450, Al Jazeera reports.
The explosions came a day after simultaneous detonations of pagers, believed to be used by Hezbollah, killed 12 people and wounded thousands.
Health Minister Firass Abiad warned that the casualty toll from Wednesday’s attacks could rise, citing “larger and bigger devices” that caused significant damage.
The attacks follow a shift in Israel’s war strategy, with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announcing a “new phase” in the conflict. After months of fighting in Gaza against Hamas, resources and forces are now being diverted to the north, he said.
The explosions in Lebanon have raised serious concerns about a possible violation of the laws of war. Experts believe the attacks, widely attributed to Israel, constitute indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, as the blasts killed dozens of people and injured thousands more.
“You’re not supposed to booby-trap objects that civilians are likely to pick up and use, or objects generally associated with normal civilian use,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of the US-based rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). “Anybody could pick up one of these pagers. We also have no idea who had the pagers, or whether or not they’re legitimate military targets.”
On a separate front, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling for Israel to end its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories within a year. The Organisation for Islamic Cooperation and the European Union welcomed the resolution.
However, Israel’s top court declined to shut down the Sde Teiman detention camp, where rights groups allege Israeli forces have tortured Palestinians, including through gang rape and beatings.
The escalating conflict has claimed the lives of at least 41,272 people and wounded 95,551 in Gaza. In Israel, the number of those killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7 has reached at least 1,139, with more than 200 people taken captive.
