Lebanon device blasts: What we know about the deadly attacks
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Japanese firm Icom said it had stopped producing the model of walkie-talkies reportedly used in Sept 18’s blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
BEIRUT - Hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon in unprecedented attacks this week, killing 37 people and wounding more than 2,900 others.
The blasts spanning two days have dealt a major blow to the Iran-backed militant group, which blamed its arch-foe Israel for the attacks and vowed revenge.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is set to address the nation later on Sept 19, with many expected to watch his speech closely for any clues about a response.
Here is what we know about the attacks.
What happened?
On Sept 17, hundreds of pagers carried by Hezbollah operatives exploded at almost the same time
Those blasts killed at least 12 people, including two children, and wounded 2,323 others, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said on Sept 19, revising down an earlier toll for the injured.
A second wave of explosions
Hezbollah announced the deaths of 25 of its members, with a source close to the group saying at least 20 had died when their walkie-talkies exploded.
AFPTV footage showed people running for cover when an explosion went off during a funeral in the afternoon for Hezbollah militants in south Beirut who were killed the day before in the pager blasts.
Hezbollah already had concerns about the security of its communications after losing several key commanders
But the nature of the attacks has instilled a sense of panic, not just in Hezbollah strongholds but around Lebanon.
What has Israel said?
Israel has not commented on the attack.
Prior to the first wave of explosions, however, it had announced it was expanding the aims in its war with Palestinian militant group Hamas to include securing the northern front with Lebanon.
Following Hamas’ Oct 7 attack, Israel vowed to bring home scores of hostages taken by Palestinian militants and to crush Hamas.
Since October, Hamas ally Hezbollah has also traded almost daily fire with Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israel border.
Not formally declared a war, the clashes on the Lebanon front have killed hundreds in Lebanon, mostly fighters, and dozens including soldiers on the Israeli side.
They have also forced tens of thousands of people on both sides to flee their homes.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Sept 18, in reference to his country’s northern border with Lebanon: “The centre of gravity is moving northward”.
How were the attacks carried out?
Part of the effectiveness of the attacks stems from its unusual nature, which saw Hezbollah’s communication devices turned into weapons.
Analysts said explosives had likely been planted in the pagers before they were delivered to Hezbollah.
The preliminary findings of a Lebanese investigation found the pagers had been booby-trapped, a security official said.
“Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery,” the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
A source close to Hezbollah, asking not to be identified, said the pagers were “recently imported” and appeared to have been “sabotaged at source”.
After The New York Times reported that the pagers that exploded on Sept 18 had been ordered from Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, the company said they had been produced by its Hungarian partner, BAC Consulting KFT.
A government spokesman in Budapest said the company was “a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary”.
Japanese firm Icom said it had stopped producing the model of walkie-talkies reportedly used in Sept 18’s blasts in Lebanon around 10 years ago.
Was Israel behind it?
Some Israeli media outlets and experts said the pager attack bore the telltale signs of a job by Mossad, the spy agency famous for exploits like the early 1970s revenge killings of those behind the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
Mr John Hannah of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America described the pager attack as “another stunning display of Israeli intelligence prowess”.
Mr Hannah said Mossad has demonstrated “a repeated ability not only to deeply penetrate its worst adversaries’ most sensitive networks, but then execute operations of exquisite precision and lethality whenever it chooses to do so”.
The incident comes nearly a year after the Oct 7 attack, which dealt a huge blow to Israel’s intelligence services for failing to stop it from happening. AFP
