Fears of escalation as second wave of deadly explosions hits Lebanon

Walkie-talkie blasts targeting Hezbollah kill 14 and injure hundreds

- William Christou, Lorenzo Tondo, Andrew Roth

A new series of extraordinary explosions aimed at Hezbollah - this time targeting walkie-talkies - killed at least 14 and wounded more than 450 in cities across Lebanon yesterday as international observers warned that the simultaneous detonation of thousands of booby-trapped communications devices may constitute a war crime.

The walkie-talkie blasts came a day after more than 2,800 people were injured and 12 killed by exploding pagers in an attack blamed on Israel and which world leaders and diplomats warned could lead to an all-out conflict between Israel and the powerful militant group despite efforts by the US and UN to avert an escalation.

A source in Hezbollah confirmed that walkie-talkies used by the group were targeted in yesterday's attack. A senior security source said the individual explosions were "small in size", similar to Tuesday's attacks.

The United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, condemned the attacks and called for restraint from Hezbollah and Israel.

The UN Security Council was convened to meet tomorrow to discuss the unprecedented operations in what appeared to be a massive supply chain breach by Israeli intelligence.

Guterres also suggested the operation may have been planned as a prelude to a major Israeli attack on Lebanon. "Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation," Guterres told reporters.