BRUSSELS: The European Union's foreign policy chief on Wednesday condemned explosions of pagers carried by Lebanese militants Hezbollah that the group blamed on Israel.
"Even if the attacks seem to have been targeted, they had heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages among civilians, including children among the victims," Josep Borrell said.
"I consider this situation extremely worrying. I can only condemn these attacks that endanger the security and stability of Lebanon, and increase the risk of escalation in the region."
Borrell added that the "European Union calls on all stakeholders to avert an all-out war, which would have heavy consequences for the entire region and beyond".
Hezbollah vowed on Wednesday to punish Israel after hundreds of paging devices used by the militant group's members exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon.
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the explosions that killed 12 people, including the 10-year-old daughter of a Hezbollah member, and wounded around 2,800 others.
The blasts have increased international fears that the conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah could spiral into all-out war.
Hours before the explosions, Israel announced it was broadening the aims of the Gaza war to include its fight against Hezbollah along its border with Lebanon.
To date, Israel's objectives had been to crush Hamas and bring home the hostages seized by the Palestinian militants during the October 7 attacks.
Since October, the unabating exchanges of fire between Israeli troops and Hamas's ally Hezbollah in Lebanon have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon, mostly fighters and dozens including soldiers on the Israeli side.
