After 12 people were killed in pager blasts across Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, more explosions were reported as walkie-talkies and solar equipment blew up on Wednesday. At least 20 people were killed and 450 injured in the second wave of attacks.
In the pager attacks on Tuesday, two children were among the 12 fatalities while nearly 3,000 others were injured.
On Wednesday, a domestic solar energy system exploded in southern Lebanon, injuring a girl, reported a local government-backed news agency. A funeral held for three Hezbollah members and a child killed in Beirut pager blasts saw subsequent explosions of walkie-talkies, killing many attendees.
After keeping silent over the pager attacks on Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant broke the silence on Wednesday evening, saying Israel is entering a new phase in the war, which he said needs courage, determination and perseverance. However, he did not say anything about the pager blasts that targeted Hezbollah members. Lauding the efforts of Israel Defence Forces, Mossad and other security agencies, Gallant said their work has produced impressive results.
The pagers were not only used by Hezbollah operatives, but also doctors, nursers, paramedics, teachers and other officials working for organisations linked to the Iran-backed Shia group.
Experts believe that Israel infiltrated the supply chain and rigged the pagers with explosives before they reached Lebanon. Around 5,000 AR 924 pagers were ordered by Hezbollah from Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo. However, the firm said it had authorised BAC Consulting KFT, a Hungary-based company, to use Gold Apollo brand in the devices they made. A Hungarian government spokesman said the pagers were never brought to Hungary and BAC was just an intermediary.