A new wave of explosions targeting Hezbollah walkie-talkie devices killed at least 14 people and injured more than 450 across Lebanon on Wednesday. A new wave of explosions targeting Hezbollah communication devices killed 20 people and injured more than 450 across Lebanon on Wednesday, heightening fears of an all-out war with Israel.
• Also read: With the explosions in Lebanon, Israeli intelligence restores its image after the fiasco of October 7
• Also read: Blinded, maimed: Beirut doctors recount horror after blasts
• Also read: Hezbollah’s pagers were pre-programmed to explode
In Beirut, communications devices exploded simultaneously on Wednesday in the southern suburbs, at the same time as the funerals of four Hezbollah members were taking place.
They had been killed the day before in pager explosions, which cost the lives of 12 people, injured nearly 2,800 and plunged Lebanon into chaos.
Wednesday’s explosions that killed 14 more people once again caused panic. During the funeral, many rushed to safety, according to AFPTV footage.
Punishment to come
Hezbollah, whose leader is due to speak today, accused Israel of being “entirely responsible” for the explosions, warning that it would “receive its just punishment.”
Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Hezbollah has opened a front on the border with Israel, claiming to support Hamas.
Around 60,000 residents of northern Israel are currently being evacuated due to near-daily rocket attacks by the pro-Iranian Shiite movement, reports The World. The Israeli government has therefore promised to restore security there to allow them to return to their homes.
Photo AFP
The attacks on small communications devices are striking and the questions remain numerous. The pagers that exploded were apparently booby-trapped before they arrived in Lebanon, during an operation planned for “several months,” according to Reuters.
They came from a shipment of 1,000 aircraft recently imported by Hezbollah.
Photo AFP
Scheduled in advance
According to a preliminary investigation by Lebanese authorities, the devices “were pre-programmed to explode and contained explosive materials placed next to the battery,” a Lebanese security official told AFP.
Photo AFP
“The quantity [d’explosif] “It was enough to cause damage, but not enough to create suspicion,” notes Houchang Hassan-Yari, professor of political science and economics at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston.
Once booby-trapped, the pagers exploded after receiving a specific signal.
Little is known about how the Jewish state managed to carry out such a coup. “Did Israeli agents infiltrate the factory?” asks the professor emeritus.
“One thing is certain, Israel knew that Hezbollah was going to buy precisely these devices. Such a development means that they have their agents and an extremely important presence within Hezbollah,” says the Middle East specialist.
Photo AFP
To understand why Hezbollah uses pagers, a device that does not emit signals, we have to go back several weeks: “Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah addressed his fighters to say that cell phones could be a weapon against them, because the Israelis could listen to them and locate them,” explains the Newspaper Professor Houchang Hassan-Yari.
Hassan Nasrallah then promised to correct the situation by introducing pagers.
– With AFP
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