Second wave of Lebanon device explosions kills 20, wounds 450

 At Least 20 people have been killed and more than 450 wounded by a second wave of explosions from wireless communication devices in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry says.

Walkie-talkies used by the armed group Hezbollah blew up in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon – areas seen as its strongholds.

Some of the blasts took place during funerals for some of the 12 people who the ministry said were killed when Hezbollah mem­bers’ pagers exploded on Tuesday. Hezbollah blamed Israel for that attack. Israel has not commented.

The attacks came as Israel’s De­fence Minister Yoav Gallant an­nounced a “new phase in the war” and as an Israeli army division was redeployed to the north.

UN Secretary General António Guterres warned of the “serious risk of a dramatic escalation” and called on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint”.

“Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation,” he told reporters.

—BBC