Lebanon’s Health Ministry holding press briefing
Lebanon’s Health Ministry is holding a press briefing in Beirut.
At least 32 killed across Lebanon after blasts: Health Ministry
At a press briefing in Beirut, Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said that at least 32 people were killed and thousands injured in back-to-back coordinated explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Yet, there is a silver lining as we have seen the unity of our Lebanese people and the professionality of our doctors and nurses who lived up to their responsibilities,” Abiad said.
On Tuesday, some 4,000 pagers exploded over the course of an hour. A day later, more explosions of handheld devices, including walkie-talkie radios, mobile phones, laptops and even solar power cells, took place.
Lebanon bans pagers, walkie-talkies on all flights
Lebanon’s director general of civil aviation has issued a new directive banning passengers from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on board any aircraft, state-run news agency NNA has reported.
The ban applies to cargo as well as checked and carry-on luggage passing through Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport and any such devices found will be confiscated by airport security.
The new rule is effective immediately and will be enforced until further notice.
Lebanon’s Mikati urges UNSC to take steps to ‘stop Israeli aggression’
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati has called on the “UN Security Council to take a firm stance to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanon” and its “technological war”, the state-run NNA news agency reported.
“This matter does not only concern Lebanon but all of humanity,” Mikati said.
The comments come ahead of a Security Council session scheduled for Friday at the request of the Lebanese government.
Mikati also received British ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell, Qatari ambassador Saud bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Thani and the Bangladesh ambassador Javed Tanveer Khan.
Death toll in Lebanon blasts rises to 37
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad has said, in the latest news briefing in Beirut, that the death toll from the two waves of attacks across the country has risen to 37.
On Tuesday, 12 people were killed and 2,323 admitted to hospital, including 226 who remain in critical condition. The following day, 25 people were killed and 708 wounded, including 61 who remain in intensive care units.
