(17 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beirut, Lebanon – 17 September 2024
1. Lebanese caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad at news conference
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Firas Abiad, Lebanese caretaker health minister:
"At 3:30 in the afternoon today, a large number of injured started coming to the hospitals. These injured people were primarily injured in the explosion of pagers they were carrying. The numbers that arrived at the emergency rooms are very big. It is obvious that it was in different areas because we saw injured people arriving at hospitals in the Dahiyeh and Beirut as well as injuries in the south, especially in Tyre and in the Bekaa areas."
3. News crews
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Firas Abiad, Lebanese caretaker health minister:
"The number of injured people is around 2,750 injured. The number of martyrs – eight martyrs. The number of critical cases is over 200 cases that are in critical condition or require surgery. We have received over 150 blood units so far. And the hospitals that have participated in receiving the injured people so far are around 100 hospitals."
5. News crews
STORYLINE:
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said at least eight people were killed and 2,750 wounded – 200 of them critically – when hundreds of handheld pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday.
Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack that comes at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border.
The Israeli military declined to comment.
The pagers exploded near simultaneously across Lebanon and in parts of Syria.
A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others.
Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group’s members not to carry cellphones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry called on all hospitals to be on alert to take in emergency patients and for people who own pagers to get away from them.
It also asked health workers to avoid using wireless devices.
Lebanese Health Minister Abiad, said around 100 hospitals have so far received people injured in the wave of exploding pagers.
AP video shot by Fadi Al Tawil
===========================================================
Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: info@aparchive.com.
Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/
You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/cda5e382522b4bd7938d6111752308d6
Author: AP Archive
Go to Source
News post in September 22, 2024, 6:04 pm.
Visit Our Sponsor’s:
News Post In – News
