Lebanese hospitals step up emergency response to treat patients injured in pager blasts: official

Hospitals and emergency services in Lebanon are stepping up their response to cope with the large number of wounded patients injured in the spate of pager blasts which shocked the country on Tuesday, Health Minister Firas Abiad told reporters following the attacks.

At least nine people were killed and about 2,800 others wounded, with around 200 reportedly in a critical condition, after pagers simultaneously exploded across Lebanon earlier in the day, the minister said.

"The majority of the injuries we are recording so far are to the face, hands, or abdomen area. There are also many eye injuries, many of these (patients) were directed to the operating rooms in hospitals to receive the necessary care. I also want to add that there was great coordination between the Ministry of Health's emergency room, as well as ambulatory services, hospitals, and doctors," Abiad said at a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the mobilization of all departments of the Public Health Ministry to follow up on medical care for the wounded.

The health ministry's Emergency Operations Center issued an urgent statement requesting all hospitals across Lebanon to be on high alert and enhance preparedness to meet the massive need for emergency health services.

"Since the beginning of the incident, there has been communication between all partners, and everyone is doing their duty to the fullest. This allowed us to help those hospitals which received large numbers of patients, to re-distribute them (the patients) to other hospitals," said Abiad.

The ministry also asked all citizens to discard their pager devices immediately over safety concerns.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it is conducting security and scientific investigations to identify the reasons behind these explosions, adding that the group is "at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its people."

Israel has not claimed responsibility for Tuesday's blasts, but Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, Yemen's Houthis, Iraq, and the Arab League have all accused Israel of being behind the incidents.

During a phone call with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi strongly condemned the targeting of Lebanese citizens in simultaneous pager explosions in the Arab state, calling it a "terrorist action by Israel."

Araghchi expressed solidarity and extended condolences to Lebanon, voicing Iran's readiness to provide assistance to treat the injured or transfer them to Tehran.

He pointed to the injury sustained by the Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani in one of the explosions and thanked the Lebanese government for its immediate measures to treat the Iranian envoy.

The Lebanese foreign minister stressed that the country's government would pursue and investigate the "terrorist" incident.

Meanwhile, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi held a phone call with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati following Tuesday's attacks. Safadi conveyed the instructions of King Abdullah II, saying that Jordan is willing to provide any necessary medical assistance to Lebanon's medical sector to help treat citizens injured in the explosions.

Safadi reaffirmed Jordan's position of supporting Lebanon's security, sovereignty, and stability, and expressed solidarity with Lebanon and its people, while stressing the need to prevent regional tensions from escalating.

Lebanese hospitals step up emergency response to treat patients injured in pager blasts: official

Lebanese hospitals step up emergency response to treat patients injured in pager blasts: official

Commemorations honoring Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV) martyrs were held on the banks of the Yalu River in Dandong, Liaoning Province on Tuesday as part of ongoing tributes to those who fought in the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea (1950-1953).

The event was held to mark the return of the remains of 12 CPV martyrs, who were killed in the war, from the Republic of Korea (ROK) on Wednesday.

This will be the 13th such repatriation of CPV remains following the handover agreement between the two countries. Since 2014, the remains of 1,011 soldiers have been returned to China from the ROK, according to China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs.

More than 170 representatives, including veteran CPV soldiers, relatives of the martyrs, active-duty personnel, students, and other from various sectors of society, attended the event.

People boarded a ferry which slowly sailed down the Yalu River. Inside the cabin, all present stood in solemn silence as the national anthem of the People's Republic of China was played, and observed a moment of silence in honor of the CPV martyrs.

Then, they walked to the ship's railings one by one and scattered flower petals into the river to pay tribute to the martyrs.

"We, the CPV, went abroad to fight to defend our motherland, the people, and our good life and to resist U.S. imperialist aggression against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). I hope that our young comrades and students today will study hard and make contributions to our motherland," said Hu Changzhe, a CPV veteran.

"I feel deeply moved as these veteran soldiers are heroes who once fought for our country. Now, standing by the Yalu River, looking back on their past and remembering their comrades, they must be deeply touched," said Hong Jialu, a student at a branch of Liaoning Province Shiyan High School.

At the event, 10 student representatives from primary and middle schools read aloud a letter to express their reverence and remembrance for the heroic martyrs through their sincere words and heartfelt recitation.

The Korean War broke out in June 1950, eight months after the People's Republic of China was founded. At the request of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China sent 2.9 million CPV soldiers to assist the DPRK during the war, of whom more than 360,000 were killed or injured.

Commemorations held to pay tribute to CPV heroes in northeast China