The UN rights chief has called for those responsible for a series of deadly explosions in Lebanon, targeting paging devices used by Hezbollah militants, to be held accountable. The Iranian-backed group has accused Israel and vowed to retaliate over the explosions that resulted in 12 deaths, including two children, and injured up to 2,800 others. Israel has not yet commented on the accusations. In a statement, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, described the blasts as 'shocking' and stated that their impact on civilians was 'unacceptable'. He emphasized that the 'fear and terror unleashed is profound'. Turk stressed that the 'simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law'. He called for an 'independent, thorough and transparent investigation as to the circumstances of these mass explosions' and demanded that 'those who ordered and carried out such an attack must be held to account'. Turk highlighted that the attack occurred at an 'extremely volatile time'. The explosions happened just hours after Israel announced it was expanding the scope of its war, triggered by Hamas's October 7 attacks, to include its fight against Hezbollah along the country's border with Lebanon. Turk urged 'all States with influence in the region and beyond to take immediate measures to avert further widening of the current conflicts'. He concluded by saying, 'Enough of the daily horrors, enough of the suffering. It is high time leaders stepped up in defence of the rights of all people to live in peace and security'. He emphasized that 'the protection of civilians must be the paramount priority. De-escalation is today more crucial than ever'.