Panic in Lebanon as terrified people ‘unplug devices’ after horror bomb attacks that 'stripped flesh from faces'
19 September 2024, 08:53 | Updated: 19 September 2024, 09:12
Lebanon is gripped by fear and confusion after two straight days of remote attacks on electronic devices that have killed over 30 people and wounded thousands more.
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The exploding devices, meant to target Hezbollah members but which have also impacted civilians, including children, have left many wondering what devices could blow up next.
Israel has been accused of the attack but has not yet taken responsibility.
Wild and unconfirmed rumours spread on social media that solar panels, fridges and batteries could be next to explode.
Some people are said to be changing the Lebanese sim cards in their phones for international versions.
"We don’t know if we can stay next to our laptops, our phones," said one Lebanese woman.
"Everything seems like a danger at this point and no one knows what to do."
One Lebanese journalist said: "We're all really scared; there is no safe place any more."
"Everyone knows what these explosions can do," Hassan Harfoush wrote in MailOnline.
"In a Beirut hospital, I saw a man whose flesh had been torn from his face, the bones gruesomely visible. He was still conscious."
Doctors told of people with missing chunks of flesh, severed fingers, eyes hanging out and other severe facial injuries.
"We’re talking about hands injured, severely injured fingers torn, I’ve heard some doctors say we need to perform amputation surgeries to remove hands, [and] ... they need to perform surgeries for eyes to remove them," one medic told the BBC.
At least 32 people were killed by the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies on Tuesday and Wednesday.
At least one of the blasts on Wednesday took place at the funeral of a Hezbollah operative killed on Tuesday.
Some 2,750 people were wounded on Tuesday, and around 450 were injured on Wednesday.
Israel and Lebanon have been trading blows for nearly a year, since the start of the war in Gaza, which followed Hamas' terror attack on October 7. The countries have a history of conflict stretching back decades.
Former IDF spokesperson says Hezbollah 'could not be more vulnerable at this point in time'
The Israeli government declared "a new phase of war" in the Middle East on Wednesday, following the second round of blasts. Troops were redeployed to the north of the country, close to the border with Israel.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah is expected to give a televised address in response to the attacks on Thursday.
A member of the group's leadership council said that the attacks would be "certainly be uniquely punished".
Seyed Hashem Safiuddin also warned that "revenge is inevitable."
The UK government said it was "deeply concerned" and monitoring the situation in the Middle East closely following the second wave.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said it was vital all parties avoid taking steps that could further spread the conflict in the Middle East.
