Communications equipment used by the militant group Hezbollah was blown up across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least 26 people and wounding thousands, many seriously.
A recent explosion involving a walkie-talkie killed 14 people and injured at least 450 others, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The blast occurred near a large crowd gathered for a funeral for the four people killed in Tuesday’s blast.
BBC reporters reported on the chaotic scenes as ambulances struggled to reach the injured, and local residents became suspicious of people using mobile phones.
The blast deepened anxiety in Lebanese society, coming just a day after a similar, highly sophisticated attack targeting callers used by Hezbollah members.
The militant group has blamed its adversary Israel. Israeli officials have so far declined to comment.
Both Taiwanese and Hungarian companies, which were reported in the press to have manufactured the phasers, have denied responsibility.
Here’s what we know so far:
How did the attack proceed?
The first explosions occurred around 3:45 p.m. local time (1:45 p.m. BST) on Tuesday in the Lebanese capital Beirut and several other locations across the country.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming out of people’s pockets before hearing gunshots and small explosions that sounded like firecrackers.
The New York Times cited U.S. officials as saying that before the pager exploded, a message appeared to have come from Hezbollah leadership. Instead, the message appeared to activate the device, the outlet reported.
According to Reuters, explosions continued for about an hour after the initial blast.
Soon, thousands of people began arriving at hospitals across Lebanon, and witnesses reported chaos in emergency rooms.
Similar scenes were seen across the country at around 5pm on Wednesday (3pm BST) when another explosion occurred.
According to Reuters, security sources said the device that was blown up was a radio that Hezbollah had purchased five months ago.
At least one explosion rocked Beirut as funerals were being held for those killed in Tuesday’s attacks, sending terrified people near the funeral procession.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, nine people were killed and hundreds injured.
What do we know about this device?
Details about the radio that exploded in Wednesday’s explosion have not yet been released.
Footage captured in the aftermath showed the destroyed equipment branded as Icom, a Japanese company. The BBC contacted Icom Japan via the contact form on its website, but has not received a response.
The pagers that exploded Tuesday were a new brand that the group had not previously used, a Hezbollah operative told The Associated Press. A Lebanese security official told Reuters that about 5,000 of the pagers were smuggled into the country about five months ago.
The label on the exploded pager piece refers to a model of the pager called the Rugged Pager AR-924. However, the Taiwanese manufacturer, Gold Apollo, has denied any involvement in the explosion. When the BBC visited Gold Apollo on Wednesday, local police stormed into the company’s offices, inspecting documents and questioning employees.
Founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said his company had signed a deal with Hungary-based BAC to manufacture the device and use his company’s name. He added that the money from them was “very strange,” but did not elaborate.
BBC Verify’s access to BAC’s corporate records shows the company was first founded in 2022.
CEO Cristina Varsoni-Arcidiacono told NBC that she knew nothing about the explosion. “I don’t make pagers. I’m just a go-between. I think you misunderstood,” she said.
The Hungarian government said the company has no “manufacturing or operating facilities” in Hungary.
What causes pager attacks?
Anonymous U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios that the simultaneous detonation of phasers was originally planned as the first step in an “all-out” offensive against Hezbollah. But in recent days, Israel has grown concerned that Hezbollah knew about the plan, so it detonated them early.
Israeli officials have not commented on these claims, but most analysts agree that it is likely behind the attack.
Simon Mabon, professor of international relations at Lancaster University, told the BBC: “We know that Israel has a history of using technology to track targets,” but the scale of this attack was “unprecedented”.
Lina Khatib of Chatham House in the UK said the attack showed Israel had penetrated “deeply” into Hezbollah’s “communications network”.
Hezbollah said in a statement that Israel was behind the attack, adding that “Israel must bear full responsibility for this criminal aggression targeting civilians.”
Hezbollah has not yet claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack.
Why does Hezbollah use pagers?
Hezbollah has relied heavily on pagers as a low-tech means of communication to avoid detection by Israel. Pagers are radio communication devices that receive and display alphanumeric or voice messages.
These types of phones are much harder to track than cell phones, which have long been neglected because they are so vulnerable, as Israel demonstrated in 1996 when it assassinated Hamas bomb maker Yahya Ayyash, whose cell phone exploded in his hand.
In February, Hassan Nasrallah ordered Hezbollah fighters to destroy their cell phones, saying they had been infiltrated by Israeli intelligence. He told his troops to destroy the phones, bury them, or lock them in metal boxes.
Experts say the directive, delivered in a live television address, may have been a warning to Israeli intelligence agents that the group would explore new – and perhaps less technologically advanced – methods of communication.
What do we know about the victims of Tuesday’s attacks?
A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that two of the dead were The attackers on Tuesday were the sons of two Hezbollah lawmakers. They also said the daughter of a Hezbollah member was killed.
Among the injured was Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Iranian media reported that his injuries were minor.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was not injured in the blast, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Lebanon’s Minister of Public Health Firas Abyad said injuries to the hands and face accounted for the majority of the injuries.
The victims who came to the emergency room ranged in age from the elderly to very young children, some of whom were dressed in civilian clothes, he told the BBC’s Newshour programme.
A similar explosion in neighboring Syria left 14 people injured, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based human rights watchdog.
Will the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalate?
Hezbollah is allied with Israel’s biggest enemy in the region, Iran. The group is part of Tehran’s resistance axis and has been waging a low-level war with Israel for months, frequently exchanging rockets and missiles across Israel’s northern border. Entire communities have been displaced on both sides.
The explosion was reported by the Israeli security cabinet The safe return of the northern inhabitants of the country was made an official war goal..
Visiting an Israeli air force base on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Galland said Israel was “opening a new phase of the war” and that “the center of gravity is shifting north as resources and forces are being diverted.”
Despite the ongoing tensions, observers say the two sides have so far aimed to contain hostilities without escalating into full-scale war. But there are concerns that the situation could spiral out of control.
Additional reporting by Frances Mao
