At least nine killed and hundreds injured by exploding 'walkie-talkies' in second wave of blasts across Lebanon

18 September 2024, 15:29 | Updated: 18 September 2024, 17:18

Walkie-talkies have exploded in Lebanon's capital of Beirut in a second day of blasts against Hezbollah.

A security source said at least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organised by Hezbollah for four of those killed the previous day.

The funeral was just getting under way in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, when people started running - with early reports suggesting another device had exploded.

At least nine people have died in the latest explosions, with more than 300 left injured, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Home solar energy systems are also reported to have exploded in several areas of Beirut.

Around 30 ambulance teams have been deployed and more are on "high alert and ready to intervene", the Red Cross said.

It comes after tiny amounts of explosives were used to detonate thousands of pagers on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, including two children, an eight-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy.

A security source said told Reuters that the hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago - around the same time the pagers were bought.

Nearly 3,000 people are believed to have been injured in the coordinated remote attack yesterday, with 200 still in critical condition.

Read more: ‘Israel hid small plastic explosives alongside Hezbollah pager batteries’ leaving 12 dead including two children

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Israel has been accused of being behind the attack, with US officials claiming the devices were detonated earlier than planned amid concerns the secret operation might have been discovered by Hezbollah.

“It was a use it or lose it moment,” one official told Axios.

UN security general Antonio Guterres said the blasts appeared to be a precursor for something bigger between Israel and Hezbollah.

"The logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation," he said.

"These events confirm that there is a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon and everything must be done to avoid that escalation."

Israel has issued no comment on the explosions but experts have said the pagers must have been tampered with in a plot months in the making.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said it is vital all parties avoid taking steps that could further spread the conflict in the Middle East.

He said the US "did not know about" and was not involved in the attack and that the US remains steadfast in getting the ceasefire agreement "over the finish line”.

The New York Times reported that Hezbollah's pagers were compromised in a joint operation between Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, and the IDF.

Hezbollah said on Wednesday that it had attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets in response to the pager bombs.

Read more: British-educated entrepreneur denies making Hezbollah's explosive pagers that killed 12 and maimed thousands

Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute said: “This was more than lithium batteries being forced into override. A small plastic explosive was almost certainly concealed alongside the battery, for remote detonation via a call or page. Mossad infiltrated the supply chain.”

Paul Christensen, an expert in lithium ion battery safety at Newcastle University, said the damage caused by the pager explosions seemed inconsistent with known cases of such batteries failing in the past.“What we’re talking about is a relatively small battery bursting into flames. We’re not talking of a fatal explosion here. I’d need to know more about the energy density of the batteries, but my intuition is telling me that it’s highly unlikely,” he said.

Israel is said to have tampered with the devices "at production level".

CCTV shows moment man's bag blows up in Lebanon during pager attack

Hezbollah militants were reportedly issued the pagers after the group's leader ordered members in February to stop using mobile phones, warning they could be tracked by Israeli intelligence.

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said it authorised its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria, but they were manufactured by a company based in Budapest.

The AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in Hungary's capital, according to a statement by Gold Apollo.

The militant group had ordered 5,000 beepers "made in Europe" under a new licence from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, several sources told Reuters.

A second security source told Reuters that up to three grammes of explosives were hidden in the new pagers that went "undetected" by Hezbollah for months.

Harrowing footage emerged in the hours after the attack showing the pagers of Hezbollah members exploding in their pockets over a 30 minute period on Tuesday.

Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said the explosions killed a 10-year-old girl and critically injured 200.

“About 2,750 people were injured … more than 200 of them critically,” he said on Tuesday afternoon.

A Hezbollah spokesperson said it was the "biggest security breach yet".

A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded.

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Footage shared on social media showed pagers blowing up in people's pockets, and other images showed wounded victims of the blasts.

Iran's ambassador was also said to have been injured in the attack.

Hezbollah claimed that the pagers were blown up by Israel, with whom it has been trading blows for months.

The UN has branded the alleged attack "deplorable."

A statement read: "The Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, deplores today’s attack across Lebanon which left thousands injured, many critically, and is confirmed to have killed at least nine, including children.

"In accordance with international humanitarian law, she reminds all concerned actors that civilians are not a target and must be protected at all times. Even one civilian casualty is one too many.

"The developments today mark an extremely concerning escalation in what is an already unacceptably volatile context. While the full impact of the attack is still unfolding, Hennis-Plasschaert urges all concerned actors to refrain from any further action, or bellicose rhetoric, which could trigger a wider conflagration that nobody can afford."

Read more: Hezbollah fires 'dozens' of missiles towards Israel, as fears grow of all-out war

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An official said that the new pagers that Hezbollah members were carrying had lithium batteries that had exploded.

The son of a member of Hezbollah's bloc in Lebanon's parliament was among those killed.

The sons of two other senior officials were wounded, a Hezbollah official said.

Prominent Hezbollah politician Ali Ammar spoke to the AP after his son, Mahdi, was killed.

"This is a new Israeli aggression against Lebanon," Mr Ammar said. "The resistance will retaliate in a suitable way at the suitable time."

Photos and videos from Beirut's southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.

In a statement, Palestinian militant group Hamas said: "We appreciate the struggle and sacrifices of our brothers in Hezbollah, and their insistence on continuing to support and back our Palestinian people in Gaza, and we affirm our full solidarity with the Lebanese people and our brothers in Hezbollah."

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah previously warned the group's members not to carry mobile phones, saying that they could be used by Israel to track their movements and to carry out targeted strikes.

The United States has denied any involvement in the incident.

"I can tell you that the US was not involved in it," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

"The US was not aware of this incident in advance. And at this point, we're gathering information."

The incident comes at a time of heightened tensions between Lebanon and Israel.

Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been clashing near-daily for more than 11 months against the backdrop of war between Israel and Hezbollah ally Hamas in Gaza.

The clashes have killed hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border.

Hezbollah is one of the most heavily armed non-state groups in the world and is part of the government in Lebanon, with dozens of MPs in parliament.

It is thought to be a terrorist organisation by many, including certain Western governments, and has played a significant role in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.