In Lebanon, at least 25 people were killed and more than 600 others wounded on Wednesday when more hand-held electronic devices exploded without warning. Most of the explosions were of walkie-talkies, but there are also reports of mobile phones; laptops and even solar panels suddenly exploding.

The blasts sowed further panic across Beirut and southern Lebanon one day after some 4,000 pagers exploded simultaneously, killing 12 people and leaving thousands more with gruesome injuries. Wednesday’s explosions triggered fires that engulfed homes, stores, cars and motorcycles. Some of the blasts occurred during the funeral of 9-year-old Fatima Abdullah, who was killed in Tuesday’s pager attack. Lebanon has banned pagers and walkie-talkies on all flights, while Lebanese citizens say they now live in fear everyday household electronics could suddenly explode. It’s widely believed Israel is behind the attacks. This is Lebanese politician Ahmad Hariri.

Ahmad Hariri: “The Lebanese people must be aware of what the Israeli enemy aims to achieve. They want to sow discord among us or strike Lebanon at a time when international attention is focused on the upcoming American elections. This suggests that the Israeli army might be preparing to execute a malicious plan to strike Lebanon, like they struck Gaza.”

The New York Times reports the electronic pagers had been manufactured by a company in Budapest, Hungary — BAC Consulting — that was actually a front company run by Israeli intelligence officers. Many of the pagers were obtained earlier this year after Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah warned against using cellphones to avoid Israeli surveillance.

On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned nations against weaponizing civilian objects.

Secretary-General António Guterres: “The logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a preemptive strike before a major military operation. So, as important as the event in itself is the indication that this event confirms that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon, and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”

Israel has declared it’s launching a “new phase” of war, redirecting forces from Gaza to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. But Israel’s carnage in Gaza continues, with deadly attacks reported today in Rafah and Jabaliya, while many children were injured in an Israeli quadcopter attack on Nuseirat. Rescue workers are rushing to uncover possible survivors buried under rubble in the Bureij camp.

In Khan Younis, a father mourned the loss of nearly his entire family to an Israeli strike, including his three children. His youngest was just one-and-a-half years old.

Muhammad Abu Houj: “Come and see. What did he do? One year and 9 months old. What did he do? Did he fire a rocket? He was sitting, safe, amongst us. Look, people. Look, o world. One year and 9 months old. Look at how my son is.”

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Wednesday Dr. Ziad Mohammed al-Dalou, who was abducted by Israeli forces during its March raid on Gaza’s Al-Shifa Hospital, has died in an Israeli jail. He’s the third doctor to die in Israeli custody since October 7 and one of at least 60 Palestinians who’ve since perished in Israeli prisons, which are rife with abuse and torture.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution Wednesday demanding Israel end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory within 12 months. One hundred twenty-four countries voted in favor of the nonbinding resolution. Israel and the United States were among the 14 member states to vote no. It was the first resolution formally introduced by the State of Palestine since it took a permanent seat at the General Assembly last week.

In Washington, D.C., Sen. Bernie Sanders is preparing a “joint resolution of disapproval” against a planned $20 billion in U.S. arms sales to Israel. He spoke from the Senate floor Wednesday.

Sen. Bernie Sanders: “Netanyahu’s policies have trampled on international law, made life unlivable in Gaza and created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in modern history. … The simple fact is that we must end our complicity in Israel’s illegal and indiscriminate military campaign, which has caused mass civilian death and suffering.”

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Germany appears to have put a hold on new exports of weapons to Israel amid ongoing legal challenges.

In campaign news, the Teamsters union says it is not endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time since 1996. The union, which endorsed Biden in 2020, says neither candidate had enough support from their 1.3 million-strong membership. Teamsters President Sean O’Brien in July addressed the Republican National Convention in a first for the union.

But Kamala Harris on Wednesday did gain the support of more than 100 former Republican officials, including ex-congressmembers, defense secretaries, CIA directors and others, who declared in an open letter that Trump is “unfit to serve again as president.”

Over a dozen House Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday in rejecting Speaker Mike Johnson’s six-month government spending bill. The stopgap bill would have tied $1.6 trillion in government funding to a measure requiring states to ask residents for proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Hours before Wednesday’s House vote, Donald Trump called on Republicans to reject any spending package that does not include the voter suppression measure. If no bill is passed before the end of the month, the federal government will shut down October 1, when early voting will be underway for November’s election.

Vice President Kamala Harris spoke Wednesday at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus event, warning of mass deportations and “massive detention camps” if Trump is reelected.

Vice President Kamala Harris: “Donald Trump and his extremist allies will keep trying to pull us backward. We all remember what they did to tear families apart. And now they have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation, in American history. Imagine what that would look like and what that would be. How is that going to happen? Massive raids? Massive detention camps?”

Immigrant rights advocates have blasted Harris for adopting the same hard-line stance on immigration as her Republican rivals, and her focus on criminalizing immigrants and militarizing the border.

The Federal Reserve has lowered its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point — the Fed’s first rate cut since March 2020. Progressive economists and labor leaders praised the Fed’s move but said it came far too late for many households. The AFL-CIO said in a statement, “Interest rates are still too high. There is still more to be done for families struggling to pay their bills.”

Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the child poverty rate has more than doubled since Congress allowed expanded pandemic benefits to expire, including the child tax credit, leaving millions of families with less money for essentials like rent and food.

In Tunisia, authorities led by President Kais Saied have accelerated a crackdown on opposition candidates and peaceful protests ahead of presidential elections scheduled for October 6. Amnesty International reports at least 97 members of an opposition party were arrested in recent days as authorities continue to restrict the work of journalists, human rights defenders and NGOS, while further undermining the independence of Tunisia’s judiciary. The latest arrests began last Friday, when thousands of protesters rallied in Tunis to demand the release of political prisoners and an end to Kais Saied’s authoritarian rule.

Mali’s government has regained control over the capital city Bamako after repelling several attacks by al-Qaeda-affiliated insurgents. On Tuesday, gunmen attacked a military police center and battled Russian mercenaries with the Wagner Group at an air base near Bamako’s airport. Malian officials have not confirmed a death toll. It’s the first attack by armed groups on Bamako since 2016 and the first since Mali’s military rulers expelled troops from Mali’s former colonial ruler, France. Bamako residents fear more attacks could be imminent.

Sidi Maiga: “There’s no sense of security. The way the camp was attacked, if we didn’t have seasoned soldiers, the terrorists would have taken it. And then, what about us civilians?”

Here in New York, protesters are demanding an end to police presence in the city’s subway system as anger mounts over Sunday’s shooting of four people by an NYPD officer who was pursuing a suspected fare evader. One of two bystanders shot remains hospitalized in critical condition. On Tuesday, police arrested 18 people as they protested at the Sutter Avenue L station in Brooklyn, where the shooting took place.