STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
From the Israeli perspective, the attacks on communications devices struck a group that has been firing rockets into their country. From Lebanon's perspective, this attack killed and maimed many people in civilian areas. We've called the Lebanese minister of health, Dr. Firass Abiad, who has just returned from Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, where many of the blast victims are being treated at hospitals he visited. Welcome to the program, sir.
FIRASS ABIAD: Thank you.
INSKEEP: What have you seen?
ABIAD: Well, the two attacks occurred and injured almost 3,000 individuals. The total tally of the people killed was 37 individuals. Most of the injuries were mainly to the face and to the hands. A lot of people had lost their eyesight, and a lot of them had also had amputations involving their fingers or their hand.
INSKEEP: Would you help us understand the stories of how children would be harmed here because we were told these were pagers that were ordered by Hezbollah? How did children end up being injured?
ABIAD: Some of the attacks occurred to people while they were in markets, and I think there's a video that's circulating about that. Some of them were driving cars or visiting family and friends. I think a lot of those children were at home.
INSKEEP: Were some of these people members of Hezbollah, and they were militia members or they were political members, but they also had civilian jobs?
ABIAD: I mean, it could be. I mean, they were clearly not in a battlefield, and they were clearly not in a combat. A lot of them were in - either in the capital, in Beirut, or the surrounding suburbs. So that's why Lebanon's position is that this is an indiscriminate attack where a lot of civilians were involved.
INSKEEP: I guess we should note the United Nations put out a statement from its human rights experts asserting that this is a violation of international law because the people exploding the pagers remotely could not be sure of who was holding them at the time and whether they were a combatant or not.
ABIAD: Well, there's one area that - I don't know whether it's - it will be helpful in your program or not, but...
INSKEEP: Go ahead.
ABIAD: ...I will volunteer the information. You know, one of the things that I noted during my visit talking to the families - the people really felt that they have been wronged in one way or another. The reason why this is important - unfortunately, I think that, you know, this is clearly is not only being seen as an escalation, but even a further provocation.
INSKEEP: Dr. Firass Abiad, Lebanon's minister of health, thanks for the update, sir.
ABIAD: Thank you very much. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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