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Mikati urges UN ahead of meeting to take firm stance over Israel's 'technological war'

Caretaker Prime Minister called Thursday for the United Nations to oppose Israel's "technological war" on his country ahead of a Security Council meeting on exploding devices used by Hezbollah that killed 32 people.

Najib Mikati said in a statement the U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday should "take a firm stance to stop the Israeli aggression on Lebanon and the technological war it is waging".

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With Lebanon blasts, Israeli spies flex muscles after October 7 fiasco

Israeli intelligence has suffered a blow after having failed to warn of Hamas' October 7 attack, but with this week's deadly pager blasts in Lebanon the fearsome Mossad agency appears to have hit back.

Israel has not commented on the unusual attack that turned communication devices used by Hezbollah members into explosives, killing 12 people including two children and wounding up to 2,800 others across Lebanon.

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Hamas accuses Israel of new Lebanon blasts, says threaten region's stability

Palestinian militant group Hamas blamed Israel for a new wave of device explosions in Lebanon Wednesday in which walkie-talkies exploded in Hezbollah strongholds killing 14 people and wounding more than 450.

"We strongly condemn the renewed and ongoing Zionist aggression against the brotherly Lebanese people," Hamas said in a statement, adding that the attack, a day after Hezbollah pagers blew up, killing 12 people and wounding 2,800, "now threatens the security and stability of the region".

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US, European diplomats to discuss Mideast tensions on Thursday in Paris

Senior diplomats from the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Italy will meet on Thursday in Paris to discuss the spiraling tensions in the Middle East, sources said on Wednesday.

The meeting will take place as fears grow of an all-out war engulfing the region, with conflict raging in Gaza and after two days of exploding pagers and other devices in Lebanon, an unprecedented attack Hezbollah has blamed on Israel.

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Hezbollah drones target north Israel, causing injuries and sparking fire

The Israeli military said on Thursday it struck six Hezbollah "terrorist infrastructure sites" and a weapons storage facility in southern Lebanon overnight, as fears grew of a full-blown war.

The air force "struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites in the areas of Chihine, Taybeh, Blida, Mays al-Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, as well as a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon," a military statement said.

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White House warns against 'escalation' in Mideast after Lebanon blasts

The White House has warned all sides against escalation in the Middle East after two days of blasts in Lebanon, widely attributed to Israel, on hand-held devices targeting militant group Hezbollah.

"We still don't want to see an escalation of any kind. We don't believe that the way to solve where we're at in this crisis is by additional military operations at all," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday.

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Turkey accuses Israel of expanding Gaza war to Lebanon

Turkey on Thursday accused Israel of seeking to expand the war in Gaza to Lebanon, terming as "alarming" a wave of deadly explosions that swept though Hezbollah strongholds.

"The escalation in the region is alarming," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on state-run TRT television. "We see Israel mounting its attacks towards Lebanon step by step."

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Japan firm says devices in Hezbollah blasts 'discontinued about 10 years ago'

Japanese firm Icom said Thursday that it had stopped producing the model of radios reportedly used in recent blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago.

"The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, and since then, it has not been shipped from our company," Icom said in a statement.

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Germany warns 'all sides' against escalation after Lebanon's second wave of blasts

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Thursday called for restraint in the Middle East after a second deadly wave of unprecedented device explosions at Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon.

"I warn all sides against further escalation," Baerbock wrote on social media platform X. "Strikes and counterstrikes do not bring the region one millimeter closer to peace".

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Hezbollah in disarray after second wave of blasts kills 37 members

Hezbollah was in disarray on Thursday after a second wave of deadly explosions swept through its strongholds across Lebanon, putting pressure on its leader to exact revenge for the operation it blames on Israel.

The attack killed 37 people in two days, including two children, and wounded more than 2,931 others, according to Lebanese health ministry figures.

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