UPDATE - UN chief warns of 'serious risk of dramatic escalation' in Lebanon after pager blasts

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM UN CHIEF

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned of a "serious risk of dramatic escalation" in Lebanon after pager blasts.

"I think that what has happened is particularly serious, not only because of the number of victims that it caused, but because of the indications that exist that this was triggered," Guterres told the reporters.

His remarks came a day after at least 12 people, including children, were killed and thousands wounded when Hezbollah members' pagers were detonated across Lebanon.

"Because obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation.

"So, as important as the event in itself is the indication that this event confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation," Guterres said.

The Lebanese group Hezbollah confirmed that at least two members were killed and many injured in the explosions and held Israel fully responsible for the incident.

- 'Not to weaponize civilian objects'

Guterres said it's "very important" that there is effective control of civilian objects and "not to weaponize civilian objects."

"That should be a rule that everywhere in the world, governments should be able to implement. The link of what's happening in Lebanon with what's happening in Gaza is obvious since the beginning.

"I mean, the Hezbollah has been very clear in saying that it has launched its operations because of what's happening in Gaza, and that it will stop when there will be a cease-fire in Gaza," he added.

There are reports that dozens of people were injured on Wednesday in the latest explosions in Lebanon.

The pager blasts came amid mounting border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Tel Aviv’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,200 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7 last year.