Catholic church leaders in the Middle East have condemned a second wave of explosions of hand-held devices across Lebanon and in the capital, Beirut, apparently targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group. Source: OSV News.
Observers said the coordinated assault followed a similar operation on Tuesday that blew up thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members.
Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, expressed deep sorrow over the critical developments in a statement on Wednesday issued by Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarchate’s Secretariat.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, “Cardinal Rai voiced his profound pain over the catastrophe affecting nearly 3000 Lebanese citizens, some of whom have died and others who remain in critical condition following an Israeli attack involving the detonation of pager devices.”
The second day saw walkie-talkie radios, motorbike radios and security locks explode, suspected to be detonated by Israel.
The patriarch “condemned the use of communication devices as tools for indiscriminate killing and denounced all forms of aggression against both Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, especially civilians,” the NNA reported.
A New York Times reporter attending one of the funerals of the victims wrote: “There was chaos everywhere as a loudspeaker called for people to remove the batteries from their phones.”
The BBC reported that some of the blasts erupted during funerals for some of the dozen people the health ministry reported to be killed when thousands of Hezbollah members’ pagers exploded in the first strike.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosions and has vowed to avenge the deaths. Israel declined to comment on the claim.
Cardinal Rai also prayed for the souls of the deceased, extended his condolences to their families, and wished for the speedy recovery of those injured.
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Lebanese Cardinal Condemns Pager Attacks As Second Wave Terrorizes The Country (By Dale Gavlak, OSV News)
