Lebanese cardinal condemns pager attacks as second wave terrorizes the country

Catholic church leaders in the Middle East condemned a second wave of explosions of hand-held devices across Lebanon and in the capital, Beirut, apparently targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.

Observers said the coordinated assault followed a similar operation on Sept. 17 that blew up thousands of pagers belonging to Hezbollah members.

Lebanese Cardinal Bechara Rai, patriarch of the Maronite Catholic Church, expressed deep sorrow over the critical developments in a Sept. 18 statement issued by Lebanon's Maronite Patriarchate's Secretariat.

According to Lebanon's National News Agency, "Cardinal Rai voiced his profound pain over the catastrophe affecting nearly 3,000 Lebanese citizens, some of whom have died and others who remain in critical condition following an Israeli attack involving the detonation of pager devices."

Apparently, the second day witnessed walkie-talkie radios, motorbike radios and security locks, along with other devices suspected to be detonated by Israel.

The patriarch "condemned the use of communication devices as tools for indiscriminate killing and denounced all forms of aggression against both Lebanese and Palestinian peoples, especially civilians," the NNA reported.

A New York Times reporter attending one of the funerals of the victims wrote: "There was chaos everywhere as a loudspeaker called for people to remove the batteries from their phones."