At least 32 people, including two children, were killed and thousands more injured, many seriously, after communication devices, some used by the armed group Hezbollah, dramatically exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In the latest round of blasts on Wednesday, exploding walkie-talkies killed 20 and injured at least 450 people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
The explosions occurred in the vicinity of a large crowd that had gathered for the funerals of four victims of Tuesday’s simultaneous pager blasts, which killed at least 12 people and injured nearly 3,000. There were chaotic scenes in which ambulances struggled to reach the injured, and locals became suspicious of anyone using a phone.
The explosions deepened unease in Lebanese society, coming a day after the apparently similar, and highly sophisticated attack targeting thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members. The militant group blamed its adversary Israel. Israeli officials have so far declined to comment.
Two firms based in Taiwan and Hungary accused in media reports of manufacturing the pagers have both denied responsibility. A Japanese company which apparently makes the walkie-talkies said it stopped producing that model 10 years ago.
What prompted the pager attack?
Unnamed US and Israeli officials told Axios that detonating the pagers all at once was initially planned as the opening move in an “all-out” offensive against Hezbollah. But in recent days Israel became concerned Hezbollah had become aware of the plan – so they were set off early.
Israeli officials have not commented on the allegations, but most analysts agree that it seems likely it is behind the attack. Prof Simon Mabon, chair in International Relations at Lancaster University, told the BBC: “We know that Israel has a precedent of using technology to track its target” – but he called the scale of this attack “unprecedented”.
Lina Khatib, from the UK-based Chatham House, said the attack suggested that Israel has “deeply” infiltrated Hezbollah’s “communications network”. In its statement accusing Israel of being behind the attacks, Hezbollah said it held the country “fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians”.
The basis for this seems to be that AUBMC switched to a new system on August 29.
However, AUBMC announced in response to the rumours, that the upgrade to its paging system was implemented as far back as April, and what happened in August was simply an activation.
Hezbollah recently received a shipment of pagers after secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah insisted that members stop using mobile phones to avoid being hacked or targeted by Israeli aerial attacks.
Photos of the pagers show they were AR-924s from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. The company quickly announced that it had authorised a Hungarian company called BAC to use the Gold Apollo trademark for certain regions.
The AR-924, its statement said, “is produced and sold by BAC. We only provide brand trademark authorisation.”
Hezbollah wows to avenge this attack
Videos circulated online of men out and about – buying fruit or checking out at the grocery store – when a small explosion sends them tumbling to the ground and bystanders running from the detonation.
Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad said more than 200 people are in critical condition in some 150 hospitals. Most injuries were in the face, hands and stomach. People across the country described scenes of horror as the sound of explosions and screams of pain rang out in the streets.
Among the dead was Fatima Abdallah Jaafar, a 10-year-old from Saraaine in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, who died when her father’s pager exploded. Hezbollah blamed Israel and declared to exact a “fair punishment” on their enemies.
