Qatar Airways bans passengers from carrying pagers, walkie-talkies on Lebanon flights

Doha: Qatar Airways has prohibited all passengers of Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on board flights. The action follows the explosion of walkie-talkies and pagers in Lebanon, killing 32 and injuring over 450 people on September 17. This restriction is applicable to checked and carry-on luggage to boot to cargo will remain enforced until the to boot notice.

Taking on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Qatar Airways stated, “Effective at once: Following the directive received from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Lebanon, all passengers flying from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) are prohibited from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on board flights. The ban applies to both checked and carry-on luggage, to boot to cargo, and shall be enforced until to boot notice.”

Effective at once: Following the directive received from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the Republic of Lebanon, all passengers flying from Beirut Rafic Harirl International Airport (BEY) are prohibited from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on board flights.…

— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) September 19, 2024

Per Al Jazeera reports, around 20 people lost their lives and over 450 were injured contained within the Lebanon blast. The most modern attack came just after 12 people were killed and more than 2800 others were wounded in a coordinated explosion of pagers in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Thursday announced to heighten military operations against Hezbollah it said to launch targeted strikes so that they could destroy terrorist capabilities and infrastructure in Lebanon, aiming to bring back security to northern Israel and to enable the return of residents.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the IDF stated, “The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure. For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields–having turned southern Lebanon into a war zone. The IDF is working to bring security to northern Israel so that they could enable the return of residents to their homes and reach war goals.”

The IDF is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.

For decades, Hezbollah has weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields—having turned southern Lebanon into…

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 19, 2024

Amid these state of events, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared the “start of new phase contained within the war”. He wrote on X (formerly Twitter),”We are within the foundation of a new phase contained within the war – we are allocating resources and forces to the northern arena and our mission is obvious: ensuring the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. To accomplish that, the protection situation ought to be changed.”

Per the CNN report, Dozens of ambulance crews from the Lebanese Red Cross worked to rescue and evacuate other folks who were wounded after a walkie-talkie explosion in Lebanon on Wednesday.

(With ANI Inputs)