Top EU diplomat condemns attacks in Lebanon, voices concern over 'risk of military escalation'

The European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has condemned recent explosions of pagers and other communication devices in Lebanon that killed dozens of people and injured thousands of others.

Explosions targeted pagers and other communication devices across the Arab country on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing more than 30 people, including two children, and wounded some 3,500 others.

The Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, whose members were among the casualties, blamed the unprecedented attacks on Israel.  

Borrell said, "I firmly condemn today’s new attack via the explosion of a high number of electronic devices across Lebanon, which has caused several casualties and a high number of injuries. Once again, the indiscriminate method used is unacceptable due to the inevitable and heavy collateral damages among civilians, and the broader consequences for the entire population, including fear and terror, and the collapse of hospitals."

The risk of military escalation, with devastating consequences for the entire region, requires an urgent mobilisation. The European Union will continue to do its utmost to support the voices of peace and reason.

Borrell emphasized European Union's calls on "all stakeholders to avert an all-out war, which would have heavy consequences for the entire region and beyond.”

On Wednesday, Hezbollah pledged to retaliate against Israel following the deadly string of explosions.

More communication devices explode in Lebanon day after pager blasts

An informed source told Press TV the detonated devices came from the same batch of cargo as the detonated pagers.

Tel Aviv has so far declined to comment on the attacks, which have already heightened global concerns that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into a full-scale war.

Just hours before the blasts, Israel announced it was expanding its objectives in its war against the besieged Gaza Strip to also address its battle against Hezbollah along the Lebanese border.

Israel waged its brutal US-backed genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after Hamas carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.

However, nearly a year into the genocidal aggression, the Tel Aviv regime has failed to achieve its declared objectives of “destroying Hamas” and finding Israeli captives despite killing at least 41,252 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 95,497 others.

Hezbollah has been staging hundreds of strikes against the occupying entity both in support of the war-hit Gazans and in retaliation for intensified Israeli attacks that have been targeting the Lebanese soil since the onset of the current war.

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