At approximately 1700 local time (1400 UTC) on 18 September 2024, a number of walkie-talkies, believed to be in the possession of Hizballah members, exploded across Lebanon — including in the capital Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and the southern part of the country. The two-way radios were believed to be Hizballah’s backup communication devices in case of a war with Israel, likely brought into use after the group’s pagers exploded the previous day. It is unclear how many radios detonated; however, at least one report indicates that there may have been as many as 2,000 such devices purchased alongside the now-exploded pagers approximately five months prior. At least 25 people were killed and approximately 450 more have been injured. Significant disruptions to medical services should be expected in the near term, especially in Beirut, due to the hospital system catering to thousands of people injured in the explosions since 17 September.
Analyst Comment: Israel is accused of carrying out the explosions in Lebanon for a second consecutive day. There have been claims that the Hizballah pager detonations on 17 September were the result of the Israeli spy agency compromising the supply chain and inserting boards with explosives into the pagers. If this is indeed the case, the attack with the two-way radios purchased by Hizballah at the same time may have been conducted by employing similar tactics. Given the widespread nature of the explosions of handheld devices, any electronic devices purchased in Lebanon over the past five months should be considered questionable in terms of their safety.
