ALBAWABA - Following the tragic mass pager explosion in Beirut's Dahieh which claimed the lives of at least nine people and 2,800+ people, the European Commission VP Josep Borrell warned of the war "spilling over" to Lebanon.
In a joint press conference with the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Borrell warned that stirring the already boiling pot in the Middle East will only lead to expanding the war with Israel and worsen the already dire situation.
"Certainly there is the possibility of the war spilling over to Lebanon," Borrell said.
As reports emerged of Israel's responsibility behind the tragic mass explosion, the Israeli news outlet Walla revealed that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had informed United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of the operation minutes before the pagers were detonated, without providing specifications.
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad told reporters that at least eight people were killed and thousands were injured. "About 2,750 people were injured... more than 200 of them critically with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach," Abiad added.
Hezbollah officials stated at least two of their members and a child had been killed when the group's new pagers detonated, wounding hundreds of Hezbollah members throughout Lebanon and parts of Syria.
The son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar was one of the two Hezbollah members killed in the explosions.
The 10-year-old girl, the daughter of a Hezbollah member, was killed in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon when her father's pager exploded while he was next to her, according to her family and a source close to the group.
Hezbollah described the pager explosions as "mysterious" and said it is investigating the cause of the "simultaneous" blasts, while Israel immediately blamed Hezbollah, which earlier Tuesday emphasized that halting Hezbollah's attacks on Israel's north to allow residents to return to their homes was now an official war goal, Naharnet reported.
