Hand-held radios used by Hezbollah exploded late Wednesday afternoon in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, according to a security source and a witness. One explosion occurred near a funeral organized by Hezbollah for those who died the previous day when thousands of pagers used by the group detonated nationwide.
Hezbollah announced on Wednesday that it had retaliated against Israeli artillery positions with rockets, marking its first strike against Israel since the pager explosions injured thousands of its members in Lebanon and heightened the risk of a broader Middle East conflict.
Israeli spy agency Mossad, known for its advanced operations abroad, allegedly planted explosives in the pagers imported by Hezbollah months before the explosions on Tuesday, according to a senior Lebanese security source and another source who spoke to Reuters.
The death toll from Tuesday’s attack has risen to 12, including two children, as confirmed by Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad. The blast also injured nearly 3,000 people, many of whom were Hezbollah fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
A Taiwanese pager manufacturer has denied involvement in the production of the devices that exploded. Gold Apollo stated that the pagers were produced under license by a Hungarian company called BAC, based in Budapest.