Israel simultaneously detonated thousands of pagers used by Lebanese Hezbollah members across Lebanon and Syria on September 17.
Lebanese officials reported that around 2,800 individuals were injured, though some reports suggest that the number is closer to 4,000, most of whom are Hezbollah members. Israel reportedly executed the attack by planting one-to-two ounces of explosive material and remote triggers inside a batch of Taiwanese-made pagers en route to Lebanon. Hezbollah had ordered the pagers to communicate across its ranks, as Hezbollah Secretary General ordered group members to limit cellphone usage in order to avoid Israeli detection. Hezbollah responded to the attack by blaming Israel and vowing to retaliate.
🚨#BREAKING: Israel blew up thousands of personal radios (Walkie-Talkies) which were used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon in a second wave of its intelligence operation which started on Tuesday with the explosions of Hezbollah pager devices. – Axios
— R A W S G L 🌎 B A L (@RawsGlobal) September 18, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ufnDxDJ6Cw
Pressured to switch to another form of communications they moved to their walkie-talkies followed by a second wave where thousands used by Hezbollah members also exploded. The walkie-talkies were reportedly a backup communication method intended to be used only during a war with Israel.
🚨 Breaking: Thousands of Hezbollah radio devices ("Walkie-Talkie") have exploded during the past hour, in what appears to be the second wave of the attack..
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) September 18, 2024
Below is a footage from today, exploding during the funeral of another Hezbollah terrorist who was killed yesterday 👇 pic.twitter.com/o3ljPtgSZo
There has been a significant escalation in the conflict dynamics between Israel and Hezbollah. More here.
🚨#BREAKING: Israel blew up thousands of personal radios (Walkie-Talkies) which were used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon in a second wave of its intelligence operation which started on Tuesday with the explosions of Hezbollah pager devices. – Axios
— R A W S G L 🌎 B A L (@RawsGlobal) September 18, 2024
pic.twitter.com/ufnDxDJ6Cw
NEW: Israel cont'd to destroy Lebanese Hezbollah tactical communications devices on Sept. 18. The multi-stage attack on Hezbollah communications will force Hezbollah to urgently reestablish reliable tactical communications in case of an Israeli offensive campaign into Lebanon.🧵 pic.twitter.com/S0RHg1X8jb
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) September 19, 2024
Hezbollah has limited options to rapidly reestablish long-range communications to reestablish effective command and control over its members in Lebanon and neighboring countries. Some of these options include: https://t.co/oTwrZYOvbE pic.twitter.com/7zYhW4u9AT
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) September 19, 2024
#BREAKING: Hundreds of fresh explosions being reported across Lebanon, 24 hours after over 4000 pagers exploded killing 12 and injuring over 3000 Hezbollah terrorists. Fresh explosions are now taking place in hand-held Walkie-Talkie VHF sets used by Hezbollah terrorists. pic.twitter.com/oVLpMLcIxD
— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) September 18, 2024
A source for the exploding walkie-talkies story: https://t.co/cP6PaHFobG
— Phineas Fahrquar (@irishspy) September 18, 2024
Now another series of blast in #Lebannon, Telecom devices 'Walkie Talkie' have reportedly exploded in #Beirut and various other areas of #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/zcgMYvgx00
— Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) September 18, 2024