Around 20 people were killed and 450 injured after wireless communication devices exploded in Lebanon, on Wednesday. Walkie-talkies used by the armed group, Hezbollah detonated in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern region of the country, which are areas considered to be the group's stronghold.
According to BBC, several blasts took place during funerals, for some of the 12 individuals that were killed when Hezbollah members’ pagers exploded on Tuesday. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for these attacks, while Israel has refused to commented. However, these attacks came after Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "new phase in the war" and an Israeli army division was redeployed to the north.
One Hezbollah official called the incident the biggest security breach in the group's history, as per Reuters.
A clearer indication of what Hezbollah might be planning to do next might emerge on Thursday when its powerful leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is due to deliver a speech. The escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel has heightened concerns that the ongoing skirmishes could escalate into an all-out war. Israel has recently increased its military presence along the border with Lebanon.
The attacks come amid a broader conflict involving Hezbollah and Israel, which has been ongoing since October 7, following a Hamas-led assault in southern Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
As per BBC, Wednesday’s deadly explosions have humiliated Hezbollah, and it is likely that its entire communication network might have been infiltrated by Israel. Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, has been launching strikes in support of its ally Hamas.
One of the blasts which occurred during a funeral procession, believed to have targeted a Hezbollah operative in Lebanon's capital city Beirut, was captured on video and shared widely on social media. Footage of the incident showed a large crowd of men, women, and children attending the funeral when a sudden explosion erupted near an ambulance.
Lebanon's Red Cross said on X that it responded with 30 ambulance teams to multiple explosions in different areas, including the south of Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley.
Images of the exploded walkie-talkies showed the labels ‘ICOM’ and ‘made in Japan’. ICOM, a Japan-based radio communications and telephone company has stated on its website that the production of the ICOM-V82 model which was in these images was discontinued in 2014.
A Reuters report stated that a Lebanese security source said the walkie-talkies were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago which was around the same time as the pagers were bought.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the “serious risk of a dramatic escalation” and called on all parties to “exercise maximum restraint”. "Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation," he told reporters.