Handheld radio devices used by Hezbollah militants exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday, just one day after a similar scenario, when pagers used by the terror group’s leaders detonated, wounding hundreds.
The deadly blasts occurred in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut and a key Hezbollah stronghold, according to Lebanese news outlets, writes National Review. Reports also indicate that at least one of the explosions happened near the funeral of a Hezbollah member who was killed in Tuesday’s pager explosions.
Ronen Bergman, an Israeli investigative reporter, claimed that the handheld devices were military-grade walkie-talkies used for the Iran-backed terror group’s internal communications to conduct terrorism, according to the Times of Israel. He noted that the blasts on Wednesday were larger and more destructive than those from the previous day, suggesting that the devices were equipped with stronger explosives.
“The attacks were designed to underline the vulnerability of Hezbollah’s entire military communications networks,” Bergman said. In a separate but related incident, Lebanese state media reported that home solar energy systems in Beirut also exploded around the same time as the radio devices, adding to the chaos.
According to a Lebanese security source, Hezbollah had purchased the walkie-talkies five months ago, around the same time the organization acquired the pagers that exploded on Tuesday.
While Israel has not commented on the explosions, the timing coincided with Hezbollah’s launching of 20 rockets into Israeli territory. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that several of these projectiles were intercepted.
