02:43Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad spoke of the serious injuries he had seen as he visited patients at the Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut on Wednesday, following the mass pager explosions the previous day.
"We observed through our tour today that there were disabling injuries including people suffered vision loss, and the hands of others were badly hurt (were cut off)," he explained.
Footage shows the minister arriving and meeting with the medical staff, before being briefed by doctors. One can be heard telling him that "'all had injuries to their eyes or hands" while there were people "with hands cut off."
Asked about the number of casualties, he replied: "there a minor increase, but we are just recording the figures."
"As you know, during the process of collecting numbers yesterday, there were over one hundred hospitals receiving injuries. Today, we are attempting to provide much more precise tally," he continued.
At time of publication, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported at least 12 people had been killed and around 2,800 injured.
Hezbollah described it as a 'criminal aggression' by Israel, confirming that the devices belonged to "employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions", and said that it would get 'retribution'. Israel had not commented at time of publication.
Egypt, Russia, Iraq, Jordan, Iran and Yemen, among others, all condemned the attack. The US State Department said the country was not involved and had had no advance knowledge of the explosions.
Cross-border clashes are ongoing between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, as well as other Lebanese and Palestinian factions, and have intensified since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
'Eye injuries, hands blown off...' – Lebanese health minister visits injured in Beirut hospital following deadly pager blasts
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad spoke of the serious injuries he had seen as he visited patients at the Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut on Wednesday, following the mass pager explosions the previous day.
"We observed through our tour today that there were disabling injuries including people suffered vision loss, and the hands of others were badly hurt (were cut off)," he explained.
Footage shows the minister arriving and meeting with the medical staff, before being briefed by doctors. One can be heard telling him that "'all had injuries to their eyes or hands" while there were people "with hands cut off."
Asked about the number of casualties, he replied: "there a minor increase, but we are just recording the figures."
"As you know, during the process of collecting numbers yesterday, there were over one hundred hospitals receiving injuries. Today, we are attempting to provide much more precise tally," he continued.
At time of publication, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported at least 12 people had been killed and around 2,800 injured.
Hezbollah described it as a 'criminal aggression' by Israel, confirming that the devices belonged to "employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions", and said that it would get 'retribution'. Israel had not commented at time of publication.
Egypt, Russia, Iraq, Jordan, Iran and Yemen, among others, all condemned the attack. The US State Department said the country was not involved and had had no advance knowledge of the explosions.
Cross-border clashes are ongoing between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, as well as other Lebanese and Palestinian factions, and have intensified since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad spoke of the serious injuries he had seen as he visited patients at the Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital in Beirut on Wednesday, following the mass pager explosions the previous day.
"We observed through our tour today that there were disabling injuries including people suffered vision loss, and the hands of others were badly hurt (were cut off)," he explained.
Footage shows the minister arriving and meeting with the medical staff, before being briefed by doctors. One can be heard telling him that "'all had injuries to their eyes or hands" while there were people "with hands cut off."
Asked about the number of casualties, he replied: "there a minor increase, but we are just recording the figures."
"As you know, during the process of collecting numbers yesterday, there were over one hundred hospitals receiving injuries. Today, we are attempting to provide much more precise tally," he continued.
At time of publication, the Lebanese Health Ministry reported at least 12 people had been killed and around 2,800 injured.
Hezbollah described it as a 'criminal aggression' by Israel, confirming that the devices belonged to "employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions", and said that it would get 'retribution'. Israel had not commented at time of publication.
Egypt, Russia, Iraq, Jordan, Iran and Yemen, among others, all condemned the attack. The US State Department said the country was not involved and had had no advance knowledge of the explosions.
Cross-border clashes are ongoing between the Israeli army and Hezbollah, as well as other Lebanese and Palestinian factions, and have intensified since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.