Lebanon: Hezbollah walkie-talkies explode, at least nine dead and a hundred injured

After the simultaneous explosion of pagers on Tuesday, which left at least twelve dead and several thousand injured in Lebanon and Syria, it was apparently Hezbollah walkie-talkies that exploded on Wednesday afternoon in several cities in Lebanon, including the suburbs of Beirut where funerals were taking place for Hezbollah members killed the day before in similar incidents. At least nine people died and a hundred injured, according to a report from the Ministry of Health.

The explosions caused panic, according to an AFP photographer covering the funerals of the four people, including the son of a Hezbollah MP. AFP correspondents also reported explosions in Sidon and Baalbeck.

Devices purchased at the same time as the pagers?

According to witnesses quoted by L’Orient-Le Jour, many wireless devices have exploded, including inside four cars in South Lebanon. According to a security source quoted by Reuters, the devices that exploded on Wednesday were purchased five months ago, around the same time as the pagers that exploded on Tuesday.

In response, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed that “civilian objects” should not be turned into weapons. “It is very important that there is effective control of civilian objects, not to turn them into weapons. This should be a rule for everyone in the world, that governments should be able to enforce,” he said.

On Tuesday, at least 12 people were killed and some 2,800 injured in simultaneous pager explosions in Hezbollah strongholds in the southern suburbs, east and south of Lebanon, authorities said.