While Israel has not commented directly on the blasts, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said its war in the region is entering a “new phase,” hours after announcing Israeli troops would be moved to the north of the country.
Israel has been battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October last year, killing at least 40,000 people in the besieged coastal enclave, after the Palestinian militant group carried out a deadly surprise attack which killed more than a 1,000 people on Oct. 7.
After the first wave of explosions, a Taiwanese company said earlier Wednesday that the exploding pagers were manufactured in Hungary, which Budapest responded to by saying that the pagers were “never” in the country.
The electronics bloodshed was condemned by the European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell, while United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned it could trigger a “dramatic escalation.”