Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has urged citizens not to accept gifts of electronic devices after pagers and other communication devices exploded in Lebanon.
During a speech at an event promoting Venezuelan culture and crafts, the president cautioned citizens to be vigilant with their phones due to a series of blasts that occurred in Lebanon on September 17 and 18.
“I usually give away books… Some people I give wooden handcrafted boxes containing Venezuelan coffee, sweets, and cocuy (a traditional Venezuelan liquor) as gifts. Don’t accept electronic gifts, be cautious with your phones, and see what happened in Lebanon,” Maduro advised, his speech broadcast on local TV channel VTV.
In various districts of Lebanon on September 17 and 18, communication devices, including pagers and radios, detonated. According to official reports, 37 people were killed, and over 3,000 were injured. Among the victims was Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani.
The cause of the simultaneous explosion of thousands of devices remains unknown. Hezbollah, Lebanese authorities, and Iran have blamed Israel for the incident, while Israeli authorities have neither confirmed nor denied their involvement.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova described the incident in Lebanon as a monstrous act of terrorism and an attempt to spark a major conflict.
