Thursday, September 19, 2024
02:30 GMT — The death toll from a second wave of explosions of electronic devices in Lebanon has climbed to 20 with more than 450 people wounded, the country's health ministry said.
"The wave of enemy [Israel] explosions that targeted walkie talkies... killed 20 people and wounded more than 450," the ministry said in a statement.
On Tuesday, at least 12 people were killed and 2,750 wounded in blasts of pagers across the Arab country.
The Lebanese Hezbollah group meanwhile announced the deaths of eight members "on the road to Jerusalem" — its term for members slain in Israeli attacks. Their deaths bring the group's death toll during the ongoing skirmishes with Israel since October last year to at least 461.
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06:00 GMT — Taiwan 'paying great attention' to Lebanon explosions
Taiwan's national security team is "paying great attention" to the detonation of thousands of pagers in Lebanon, the island's defence minister said, after a Taiwanese firm was linked to the pagers' production.
Taiwan-based Gold Apollo said it did not manufacture the devices used in the attack, and that they were made by a Budapest-based company which has a licence to use its brand.
Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said the government was closely watching developments.
"After the news came out, my understanding is that at present, the relevant national security bodies are paying great attention to this," he said without elaborating.
05:00 GMT — Biden to discuss Gaza with UAE president
US President Joe Biden will welcome United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the White House for talks on issues ranging from the carnage in Gaza, Sudan and responsible artificial intelligence development.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said the visit would be the first-ever by a president of the Gulf Arab country to Washington, adding that Vice President Kamala Harris would meet separately with the UAE leader.
04:00 GMT — Germany puts arms exports to Israel on hold
Germany has put a hold on new exports of weapons of war to Israel while it deals with legal challenges, according to a Reuters news agency analysis of data and a source close to the Economy Ministry.
A source close to the ministry cited a senior government official as saying it had stopped work on approving export licences for arms to Israel due to legal and political pressure from legal cases arguing that such exports from Germany breached humanitarian law.
However, the German government did issue a statement after the Reuters story was published.
"There is no German arms export boycott against Israel," government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said.
03:00 GMT — Lebanese doctors describe horror after pager explosions
Doctors in Lebanon have spoken of horrific eye wounds and finger amputations a day after Hezbollah paging devices exploded across the country, killing 12 people and wounding up to 2,800.
"The injuries were mainly to the eyes and hands, with finger amputations, shrapnel in the eyes — some people lost their sight," said doctor Joelle Khadra, who was working in an emergency at Beirut's Hotel-Dieu hospital.
Khadra told the AFP news agency that Hotel-Dieu, located in the Lebanese capital's Christian-majority Ashrafieh district, treated about 80 injured.
Around 20 "were admitted to intensive care immediately and were put on ventilators to ensure they wouldn't suffocate due to the swelling in their faces", she said.
A doctor at another hospital in Beirut said he worked all night and that the injuries were "out of this world — never seen anything like it".
For our live updates from Wednesday, September 18, 2024, click here.
