Fourteen people have died and over 450 have been injured after electronic devices, including walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, exploded across southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday afternoon, according to the country’s health ministry. The blasts occurred just a day after a similar incident where pager explosions killed at least 12 people across the country.
One of the recent explosions took place near a funeral organized by Hezbollah for those killed in the previous day’s pager blasts. The Lebanese official news agency also reported that solar energy systems exploded in homes in several areas, injuring at least one girl.
The walkie-talkies, along with the pagers that exploded a day earlier, were reportedly purchased by Hezbollah around five months ago. Security sources suggest that the devices were tampered with, embedding explosives next to their batteries that could be remotely detonated.
This series of explosions comes amid escalating tensions in the region, with Hezbollah launching rocket attacks on Israeli artillery positions in response to what they claim is Israeli tampering with their devices. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has announced a “new phase” of the conflict, shifting focus to the northern front with Lebanon.
