scores die in Beirut in Walkie-talkie and pager explosions

Beirut September 18, 2024(QJ) -20 people were killed and more than 450 were injured Wednesday, according to health officials in Lebanon, after walkie-talkies detonated in a fresh wave of explosions, one day after pager blasts killed at least 12 people and injured more than 2,800 others.

The head of the United Nations Human Rights, Volker Türk, condemned the bombings in Lebanon on Tuesday, which killed at least 12 people and injured nearly 2,800 others.

Türk described these attacks as violations of international humanitarian law and called for an “independent, thorough, and transparent investigation.”

CNN reported that the Israeli military and intelligence were behind Tuesday’s attack. Still, Israeli officials did not explicitly comment on the matter or the bombings on Wednesday that involved walkie-talkies.

Türk also did not comment on the Wednesday bombings involving the walkie-talkies; his remarks were solely about Tuesday’s pager bombings.

The UN Human Rights Chief also stated that anyone who ordered or carried out the attack “must be held accountable.” Türk’s call for an investigation was echoed by the international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), which emphasized that the investigation should be “prompt” and “conducted immediately.”