UNITED NATIONS, Sept 21, (AP): Weaponizing ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare, and targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law, the United Nations human rights chief said Friday.

Volker Türk told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council there must be an independent and transparent investigation of the two attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday where these devices exploded, reportedly killing 37 people and injuring more than 3,400 others. "Those who ordered and carried out these attacks must be held to account,” he said.

Lebanon has blamed Israel for the attacks, which appeared to target Hezbollah militants but also saw many civilian casualties, including children. Hezbollah has fought many conflicts with Israel, including a war in 2006, and it has conducted near-daily strikes against Israel to support Hamas militants who attacked Israel on Oct 7.

Before the council meeting, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon was asked by reporters about speculation Israel was behind the two explosions. "We are not commenting on the specific attacks you mentioned, but I can tell you that we will do everything we can to target those terrorists to minimize casualties for civilians,” he replied.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib accused Israel of terrorizing the entire Lebanese population on streets, in markets, shops and their homes where their communications devices exploded. He held up a photo of a mangled and bloodied hand, telling ambassadors from the 15 council nations: "Look at the ugliness of what has happened in this picture.” Bouhabib insisted that Israel not only launched the attacks but told the council there were "official declarations” and a tweet by an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "that was lately deleted, emphasizing the responsibility of Israel and praising the positive results of this assault.”