A series of explosions from hand-held radios used by Hezbollah rocked Lebanon's southern regions and Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday, escalating tensions with Israel. This follows similar explosions triggered by Hezbollah's pagers the previous day.
The blasts resulted in three fatalities in Lebanon's Bekaa region and numerous injuries. One explosion occurred near a funeral organized by Hezbollah for victims of Tuesday's pager detonations. The previous day's explosions had injured nearly 3,000 people, including many Hezbollah fighters and Iran's envoy to Beirut.
Hezbollah briefly experienced disarray following the pager attacks but retaliated on Wednesday by targeting Israeli artillery positions with rockets. This marked the group's first strike against Israel since the pager explosions heightened fears of a broader Middle Eastern conflict.
Reports indicate that Hezbollah had acquired the hand-held radios about five months ago, around the same time as the pagers. According to senior Lebanese security sources and other reports, Israel's spy agency, Mossad, had embedded explosives in the pagers imported by Hezbollah months prior to the explosions.
The death toll from Tuesday's attacks has risen to 12, including two children. Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad confirmed that nearly 3,000 were wounded. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has called for an independent investigation into the incidents involving the exploding pagers.
A Taiwanese pager manufacturer has denied involvement in the production of the devices used in the attacks, stating that they were produced under license by BAC, a company based in Budapest, Hungary.
In retaliation, Hezbollah has vowed to continue its support for Hamas in Gaza and warned Israel to expect further responses to the "massacre" caused by the pager explosions. Hezbollah officials described the incident as the group's "biggest security breach" in history, with hospital footage revealing severe injuries among the victims.
The situation follows a series of targeted assassinations of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, attributed to Israel, exacerbating the ongoing conflict and raising concerns about a potential regional war involving major powers such as the United States and Iran.
(With inputs from Reuters)
