Volker Turk, the UN’s human rights chief, said in a statement on Wednesday that those responsible for the deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon “must be held to account”.

“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 said.