Hezbollah Walkie Talkie Blast: Rising Tensions and Casualties in Lebanon

Hezbollah Walkie Talkie Blast

Another explosion in Lebanon: a walkie talkie exploded, killing 32 people and injuring 3250

Recent escalations between Israel and Hezbollah have led to a series of deadly explosions in Lebanon, with the latest incidents involving remotely detonated devices linked to Hezbollah’s communication equipment, resulting in numerous fatalities and injuries. The attacks, which included a previous day’s bombing of pagers, have raised suspicions of Israeli involvement, although Israel has not officially commented.

In response, Hezbollah has launched rocket attacks against Israeli positions, further heightening tensions in the region. International leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have called for restraint to prevent further conflict. Amidst these developments, Iran has indicated it may consider its options in support of Hezbollah, complicating the already volatile situation.

Key Concepts

• A series of explosions in Lebanon attributed to Hezbollah’s use of remotely detonated devices resulted in numerous casualties.
• Hezbollah accused Israel of orchestrating the attacks, while U.S. experts suggest Mossad may be involved.
• The recent violence has led to increased tensions and military preparations along the Israel-Lebanon border.
• Reports indicate that the attacks involved communication devices rigged with explosives, targeting Hezbollah’s operational capabilities.
• International leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have called for restraint to prevent further escalation in the region.
• Former intelligence officials believe Israel’s strategy aims to disrupt Hezbollah’s communications without provoking a larger conflict.
• The founder of Golden Apollo clarified that his company did not produce the explosive-linked pagers found in Lebanon.
• Iran has indicated it may take necessary measures in response to the escalating situation, given its support for Hezbollah.
• The ongoing violence raises concerns about a potential broader regional conflict involving multiple actors.
• EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell emphasized the severe humanitarian impact of the attacks on civilians, especially children.

A new round of explosions occurred in Lebanon on Wednesday (September 18), when walkie talkies used by Hezbollah militants were detonated remotely, killing 32 people and injuring 3250.

At least one of the blasts took place near a funeral for three Iran-backed Hezbollah members and a child, who were among the 12 killed after thousands of Hezbollah pagers exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, injuring nearly 3,000 people.

Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, but Israel has not commented, even though security experts in the Middle East and the United States told U.S. media that Tuesday’s pager attack was the work of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.

On Wednesday, Hezbollah said it had retaliated by attacking Israeli artillery positions with rockets, raising the prospect of a wider war in the Middle East.

A security source said the walkie-talkies were bought by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time as the pagers that went missing. A senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters that Mossad, which has a long history of conducting sophisticated operations on foreign soil, had placed explosives in the pagers months before Tuesday’s blast.

Hezbollah officials and Lebanese state media said Wednesday’s explosions occurred in Beirut and several areas of Lebanon. In addition, Lebanon’s official news agency reported that explosions in home solar systems in several areas of Beirut and southern Lebanon injured at least one girl.

Dr. Tania Baban, a Lebanese doctor working for the U.S. medical charity MedGlobal, told VOA her team performed more than 460 surgeries, including finger and hand amputations, during Tuesday’s pager explosions.

She said those carrying pagers heard beeping sounds from the pagers, which were said to be messages from Hezbollah leaders, and as they were reading the messages, the pagers exploded. As they held the pagers close to their faces to read them, they suffered injuries to their hands, eyes, necks and faces, while others who had the pagers hung on their waists suffered injuries to their abdomens and other parts of their bodies.

“Now, this is obviously happening 11 months after the war on Lebanon’s southern border with northern Israel,” Baban said. “So there is always the potential for escalation across the country.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Egypt on Wednesday that the United States is assessing how the attacks will affect efforts by Israel and Hamas to negotiate a ceasefire in the war in the Gaza Strip, which is now in its 12th month.

Israel is sending additional troops to its border with Lebanon as a precautionary measure, an anonymous Israeli government source said Wednesday.

Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, said through a spokesman that he was “deeply alarmed” by the remote detonations. He urged “all parties concerned to exercise maximum restraint and avoid further escalation.”

In Cairo, Blinken told reporters that the United States was neither aware of nor involved in Tuesday’s pager bombing, while also expressing concern about escalating tensions in the region.

“We remain very clear that it is important that all parties refrain from any steps that could further escalate the conflict,” Blinken said at a joint news conference with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty.

“All parties must refrain from any actions that could escalate the conflict,” he added.

Before Wednesday’s attack, Abdulati condemned the pager bombing and any unilateral action that violated “Lebanese sovereignty.”

“We are on the brink of all-out war,” he said through an interpreter.

Israel has not yet commented on the attack, neither admitting responsibility nor denying involvement. Tuesday’s pager attack came hours after the Israeli government announced it was expanding its goals against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip to include securing northern Israel from Hezbollah rocket fire.

But some former intelligence officials believe that detonating Hezbollah’s pagers, two-way radios and other equipment could be part of an Israeli effort to achieve its goal of winning without fighting.

“Israel is trying to do enough to stop Hezbollah from launching 50 to 60 rocket attacks a day … without risking a larger war,” said Daniel Hoffman, a retired American clandestine intelligence officer and former CIA station chief.

Hoffman told VOA that the operation, suspected to be carried out by Israel, could also weaken Hezbollah’s base in Lebanon.

“It’s trying to drive a wedge between ordinary people and Hezbollah,” he said. “The message is, ‘You don’t want to be around them (Hezbollah).’ ”

Hoffman said that given Israel’s intelligence capabilities, it is not impossible to target more Hezbollah equipment in the future.

Other former intelligence officials said the campaign to blow up pagers and other communications equipment also gave Israel an advantage if tensions with Hezbollah escalated.

Significantly, they said, the bombings at least weakened Hezbollah’s ability to communicate in times of crisis while keeping some key militants off the battlefield.

The group began using the pagers after Hezbollah’s leadership ordered members to stop using cell phones, fearing that Israeli intelligence could intercept and track their communications.

Security experts in the Middle East and the United States told U.S. media they believed Israeli agents somehow intercepted shipments of the pagers and added explosives to the devices before they reached Lebanon and were distributed by Hezbollah.

Hsu Ching-Kuang, founder of Taiwanese manufacturer Golden Apollo, told reporters Wednesday that his company did not make the pagers, even though the company’s logo was found on the remains of the explosive device when it was examined Tuesday.

He said Golden Apollo has authorized its brand to be used on equipment produced and sold by a company called BAC in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

Security experts in the Middle East and the United States told U.S. media they believed Israeli agents somehow intercepted shipments of the pagers and added explosives to the devices before they reached Lebanon and were distributed by Hezbollah.

Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations said in a letter on Wednesday that Tehran was considering its options.

In the letter, he said Iran “reserves the right to take necessary measures in response in accordance with international law.”

Iran’s support for Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as ongoing clashes in Gaza and along the Israel-Lebanon border, have raised concerns about a wider regional conflict.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the situation “extremely worrying” and said he discussed it in a call with Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib.

“Even though these attacks appear to be targeted, they cause severe and indiscriminate collateral damage to civilians, including children,” Borrelli said.