Walkie-talkies explode after pager blast in Lebanon, 9 dead, 300 injured
#News Bureau September 18,2024
Nine people have died after walkie-talkies exploded in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon. According to media reports, about 300 people have been injured in these incidents. This incident has happened a day after pager explosions in the Middle Eastern country. Twelve people were killed and about 3000 injured on Wednesday in explosions in pagers.
Hand-held radios used by the armed group Hezbollah exploded in the southern part of Lebanon and the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut on Wednesday afternoon, injuring a large number of people. This incident has happened a day after deadly pager explosions across the country.
At least one of the blasts occurred near a funeral for those killed the previous day, which was organised by Hezbollah, according to the Tehran Times. Wednesday’s blasts came after the group said on Wednesday it had attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets in its first attack on its arch-enemy.
Reuters quoted a security source as saying that the handheld radios or walkie-talkies were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time as the pagers were bought. Tuesday’s blasts have been described as the biggest security lapse in the organisation’s history. A day earlier, at least 12 people, including two children, were killed and nearly 3,000 injured, including several fighters of the terror group and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
Lebanese authorities have claimed that Israel tampered with pagers imported into the country. The company that makes the pagers has said that although the devices bore its brand, they were made by a company in Budapest.
According to a New York Times report, each pager had about 1 to 2 ounces of explosive material planted next to the battery.
According to the report, officials said a switch was also installed that could be triggered remotely to detonate the explosives. Israel’s spy agency Mossad reportedly planted the explosives inside pagers imported by Hezbollah.
t is noteworthy that after the Gaza war began in October last year, Hezbollah instructed its members to avoid mobile phones and rely on their own telecommunications system to prevent Israeli attacks. Lebanon’s internal security forces said several wireless communication devices were blown up across the country, especially in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah.
These explosions have taken place amid ongoing violence between Hezbollah and Israel. The conflict between the two has intensified since the start of the Gaza War in October last year. Hezbollah’s missile attacks on Israel began soon after Hamas’ attacks on October 7. After this both sides opened fire. The ongoing conflict has displaced thousands of people from cities and villages on both sides of the border. The situation still remains volatile with reports of further explosions in southern Lebanon and the capital Beirut.
Let us tell you that Hezbollah, banned from the United States and the European Union, is the political and military establishment in Lebanon and is supported by Iran. Hezbollah supports Hamas, which has been at war with Israel in Gaza since October 2023. The pager explosions have injured thousands of its members in Lebanon and raised the possibility of a large-scale Middle East war.
