The Lebanese civil aviation authority has banned passengers from bringing electronic devices for receiving messages (pagers) and radio transmitters (walkie-talkies) onto planes, following the coordinated explosions of such devices in recent days.
The order issued today affects Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut and restricts the presence of such devices in hand luggage or in suitcases placed in the hold of planes.
More than thirty people died on Tuesday and Wednesday following the explosions of hundreds of communication devices used by members of the Hezbollah (Party of God) militia.
The Lebanese authorities and the Tehran government, which supports Hezbollah, accused Israel of being responsible for the attack, but Tel Aviv has not explicitly acknowledged its responsibility.
According to initial investigations, the electronic devices were concealing an explosive charge.
In addition to the electronic text message receivers and radio transmitters/receivers, several solar panels were also detonated remotely.
The nature of the attack, which also affected civilians in public places in Lebanon, has been criticized by the United Nations.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for tools used by civilians not to be used as weapons.
The UN Security Council will meet urgently on Friday to discuss the series of explosions of pagers and other devices in Lebanon.
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