China speaks out for the first time after series of pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon

At a regular press conference of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on September 19, a reporter from Türkiye's Anadolu news agency asked China to comment on the explosion of communication equipment in Lebanon, which according to the reporter killed more than 30 people and injured over 3,000.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said China pays close attention to relevant incidents and opposes any acts that infringe upon Lebanon's sovereignty and security.

Mr. Lam Kiem expressed concern that the incident could escalate regional tensions, and called on all relevant parties to seriously protect peace and stability in the Middle East.

On September 17 and 18, a wave of pager and walkie-talkie explosions occurred in Lebanon, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands, including more than 200 people in critical condition.

The two communications vehicles that exploded were purchased from abroad by the Hezbollah movement about five months ago.

Initial information suggests that a small amount of explosives was hidden in the devices and detonated by a text message disguised as a message from Hezbollah leadership to members.

After the explosions that caused panic in Lebanon, especially in hospitals, Hezbollah declared that Israel bears full responsibility.

Hezbollah pledged revenge and said it would continue its fight against Israel to support Hamas in the war in Gaza.

Watch video of the moment a man's bag suspected to have contained a pager exploded in a supermarket in Lebanon's capital Beirut.

For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati also accused Israel of being behind the electronic device explosions and declared Lebanon to be in a state of war with Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel has yet to publicly comment on the incident, and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant believes his country is at the beginning of a new phase in the war.

According to Mr. Gallant, the focus of this phase moves north and with a stronger opponent than Hamas.

Although the Israeli Defense Minister did not specify who Israel's new opponent is, experts basically believe that it is the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, a country bordering Israel's northern border.

The pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon on the one hand show Hezbollah's weaknesses when the group's communication network is compromised to the point of being manipulated and causing casualties.

On the other hand, it also makes the hope of reaching a ceasefire agreement and exchanging hostages between Israel and Hamas even more distant.

Watch Reuters video disassembling an Icom radio believed to have been used in the Hezbollah communications equipment explosion

On September 18, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the explosion of communications equipment targeting Hezbollah forces showed "a great risk of a serious escalation of the conflict in Lebanon".

The head of the world's largest multilateral organization called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint to avoid escalating tensions.

Many countries have also spoken out. While Russia has demanded a thorough investigation into the incident, the US has stated that it continues to strongly support a diplomatic solution to the tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border.