Hezbollah walkie-talkie explodes in Lebanon on second day of explosions

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Handheld radios and other wireless communication devices used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and injuring at least 450 a day after thousands of pagers exploded in the country.

The explosions added to the shockwaves in Lebanon following Tuesday’s unprecedented attack using a pager, Hezbollah blames Israel, vows revenge. The militant group and Israel are engaged in a war of attrition across the Israel-Lebanon border, raising fears of a wider conflict.

The latest deaths and injuries have taken a toll from two days of explosion Up to 32 people were killed, including at least two children, and more than 3,000 were injured. Nearly 300 people injured in Tuesday’s explosion remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, speaking at an air base in Israel on Wednesday, hinted that the country was entering a new phase of fighting on its northern border with Lebanon.

He spoke after the Israeli army’s 98th Division – which includes paratroopers and commando units – was ordered to move to Israel’s northern border, according to a person familiar with the matter.

“The center of gravity is shifting north, which means we are allocating forces, resources and energy to the northern theater,” Gallant said. “I believe we are at the beginning of a new phase in the war and we have to adapt.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a short video statement on Wednesday: “I have said it before. [that] We will bring the people of the North back home safely. And that is exactly what we will do.”

Israel has not commented directly on the explosion.

Hezbollah, which has yet to comment on Wednesday’s blast, was left reeling after the coordinated attacks. deal a humiliating blow and caused widespread panic and confusion.

Many across Lebanon are anxiously awaiting the group’s response, but with its communications network largely destroyed, experts say it is difficult to see the group retaliating immediately.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is expected to address the security breaches in a speech on Thursday.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said of Tuesday’s pager attacks that “the fear and terror unleashed is profound”. He called on world leaders to act “to protect the right of all people to live in peace and security”.

Hezbollah and Israel have been exchanging cross-border fire since Hamas attack on Israel on October 7raising fears of a wider regional conflict. On Wednesday, Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli artillery positions across the border.

Asked about Tuesday’s explosion, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday in Cairo that he was focused on reaching a cease-fire in Gaza that could also bring calm to the Israel-Lebanon border.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reiterated the US position that Israel has the right to self-defense but added that “how they exercise that is important to us” and warned that the US “does not want to see any escalation”.

Wednesday’s explosions — including one from a handheld radio — occurred in southern Beirut, Tyre, Nabatiyeh, Hermel and the Bekaa Valley, as well as dozens of villages and towns in the south, according to the National News Agency and emergency response forces.

NNA also reported numerous Israeli surveillance drones flying over the south of the country, all of which are areas with a heavy Hezbollah presence.

Local media reported that some of the devices bore the trademark of Japanese radio equipment maker Icom and the model number V82. The company said in a statement on Thursday that it was “investigating the facts surrounding this matter.”

In a separate statement, Icom said its IC-V82 handheld radios “were manufactured and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014,” but that the model “was discontinued approximately 10 years ago and has not been shipped by our company since then.” Icom added that it had also stopped producing batteries for the devices.

Icom said the radios also appeared to be missing anti-counterfeit stamps used to identify counterfeit products, “so it is impossible to confirm whether the products were shipped by our company or not.”

Gruesome images circulating on social media for the second day in a row showed burnt cars and motorbikes, houses and shops ablaze, and bloodied people being rushed to hospital in ambulances.

At least one explosion occurred on Wednesday near a funeral in Beirut’s southern suburb of Ghobeiry for some of those killed on Tuesday.

As ambulance sirens blared, a man ran through the crowd shouting: “It exploded in his hand.” A Lebanese soldier stationed near the funeral, where weeping relatives held up pictures of their dead loved ones, said: “Two devices exploded.”

Additional reporting by Steff Chávez in Washington and David Keohane in Tokyo