Taiwan's government and Bulgarian authorities Friday both denied making the exploding pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The blasts took place in several suburbs of Beirut, according to Lebanon's National News Agency. The cause of the explosions was not clear.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did say on Wednesday, however, that his country's war with Iran's so-called proxy groups in the region had entered a "new phase," announcing a shift to the north of Israel after 11 months of intense conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.