A day after the tragic pager explosions that killed a dozen people across Lebanon, more detonations struck late Wednesday afternoon. This time, hand-held radios used by Hezbollah exploded in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
One of the blasts reportedly occurred near a funeral organized by Hezbollah for those killed in the previous day’s pager explosions. The situation has further heightened tensions in the country as these incidents continue to unfold.
In a coordinated attack targeting Hezbollah, a US-designated terror group, around a dozen people died on Tuesday, and over 3,000 others were left injured in Lebanon. Among the wounded were Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, as reported by Iran’s state media. The explosions took place at around 3:30 pm local time in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has accused Israel of orchestrating this attack, calling it the “biggest security breach” the group has faced. The blasts weren’t limited to Lebanon; one also occurred in Damascus, Syria, injuring four people in a vehicle. Hezbollah is conducting investigations into the synchronized explosions and has warned against spreading misinformation, which it claims could serve psychological warfare purposes.
ALSO READ: Explosives in pagers and a major Hezbollah lapse: How Israel’s Mossad managed to pull off the attack in Lebanon
According to Reuters, a senior Lebanese security source has confirmed that Israel conducted an operation involving explosive devices. The attack resulted in nine fatalities and nearly 3,000 injuries, including Hezbollah fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
The explosives were concealed within pagers used by Hezbollah for low-tech communications to avoid detection by Israeli forces. This incident signifies a notable penetration by Israeli intelligence into Hezbollah’s operations. In response, Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate, although Israel has yet to comment on the attack.
The pagers involved were sourced from a European company branded as Gold Apollo, based in Taipei. Hsu Ching-Kuang, Gold Apollo’s founder, clarified that while the pagers were branded under his company’s name, they were not directly produced by them. The model used in the attack was the AP924, a pager designed to receive and display text messages without making phone calls.
The senior Lebanese security source disclosed that Israel’s Mossad had modified the pagers during production by embedding a board with approximately three grams of explosive material.
