(MENAFN- Live Mint) Just a day after pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah members exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon on Wednesday, marking a second wave of deadly attacks.
Both attacks are widely suspected to have been carried out by Israel, raising fears that the ongoing conflict between the two sides could escalate into full-scale war.
Two waves of attack
Earlier on Tuesday, pagers utilised by hundreds of Hezbollah members detonated in various locations in Lebanon and Syria. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people, including two young children, and left thousands more injured.
The Lebanese government and Iran-backed Hezbollah have also attributed the deadly explosions to Israel.
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Just one day after these incidents, additional detonations occurred in Beirut and other areas of Lebanon on Wednesday, including several blasts during a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child who lost their life in Tuesday's explosions, according to Associated Press.
At least 20 people were killed, and another 450 were wounded, the Health Ministry said, in this apparent second attack.
The picture of a child is placed amidt flowers at the site of a memorial set up outside Lebanon's embassy in Tehran, on September 18, 2024. Exploding pagers claimed the lives of 12 people in Lebanon, including two children, the country's health minister said on September 18, updating the toll a day after the blasts blamed on Israel. Hundreds of the wireless devices exploded simultaneously across Lebanon on September 17, hours after Israel said it was broadening the aims of the Gaza war to include its fight against Hamas ally Hezbollah. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)Pagers were 'discontinued' in 2014
Mobile phones became the primary communication tool worldwide; pagers-often referred to as beepers due to the sound they emit to signal incoming messages-have largely fallen out of favour, with demand plummeting from its peak in the 1990s.
FILE - Three women hold the pager 'Quix' as they present it at CeBIT '97 in Hannover, Germany, Tuesday March 18, 1997. The beep-beep-beep of a small black box on your belt or in your pocket was something of a status symbol decades before the smartphone wiped it from popular culture. (AP Photo/Fabian Bimmer, File)For many years, Hezbollah has relied on pagers for communication.
Recently, the group's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, cautioned members against using cellphones, stating that Israel could potentially use them to track their movements. Pagers operate on a different wireless network than mobile phones, making them generally more resilient during emergencies.
A photo taken on September 18, 2024, in Beirut's southern suburbs shows the remains of exploded pagers on display at an undisclosed location. Hundreds of pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon on September 17, killing at least nine people and wounding around 2,800 in blasts the Iran-backed militant group blamed on Israel. (Photo by AFP)For Hezbollah, pagers offer a way to circumvent what is believed to be extensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon. The simpler technology of pagers carries lower risks of intercepted communications, providing a more secure option for the group.
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