Death toll from walkie-talkie blasts in Lebanon up to 20 — health ministry

The death toll from the second wave of explosions of personal communication devices in Lebanon has risen to 20, the country’s health ministry said, reported from TASS.

According to the ministry’s bulletin posted on its Telegram channel, the number of those wounded has increased to 460. The majority of those killed are members of Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel from southern Lebanon since October 2023.

On September 17, many pagers exploded almost simultaneously in different parts of Lebanon. According to the country’s Health Ministry, twelve people were killed, including two children, and 2,800 more were hospitalized.

The Shiite movement Hezbollah blamed the explosions on Israel and promised a "fair retaliation." According to one version, the incident was a result of a cyberattack. The pagers were reportedly brought to Lebanon for Hezbollah members in the spring of this year with explosive devices already embedded in them.

On September 18, a new wave of explosions swept across Lebanon. This time, walkie talkies, phones, fingerprint scanners, as well as devices operating on solar and lithium-ion batteries exploded. According to Reuters, these devices were bought by Hezbollah along with the pagers.

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