‘Civilian objects should not be weaponised’: UN chief on Lebanon blasts

Devices belonging to Hezbollah explode in simultaneous waves, killing more than 20 and wounding hundreds in Lebanon.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says civilian objects should not be weaponised after a deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon targeted communication devices used by Hezbollah.

“I think it’s very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponise civilian objects. That should be a rule that … governments should be able to implement,” Guterres said on Wednesday at a briefing at UN headquarters in New York.

Hundreds of wireless paging devices belonging to members of the Iran-backed group exploded simultaneously on Tuesday, hours after Israel said it was broadening the aims of the Gaza war to include its fight against Hamas’s Lebanese ally. The explosions on Tuesday killed 12 people, including two children, and wounded up to 2,800.

Guterres warned that “there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid the escalation”.

“What has happened is particularly serious not only because of the number of victims that it caused but because of the indications that exist that this was triggered, I would say, in advance of a normal way to trigger these things because there was a risk of this being discovered.”