A second wave of blasts rocked Hezbollah on Wednesday as thousands of radios and other devices used by the terror group were detonated across Lebanon, killing at least 14 people and leaving more than 450 wounded, security sources and officials said.
Additional explosions were reported throughout the capital of Beirut and in the country’s south following Tuesday’s massive security breach that caused Hezbollah pagers to explode, killing at least 12 people and injuring another 2,800.
Some thousands of personal walkie-talkie radios were targeted in Wednesday’s operation, sources told Axios reporter Barak Ravid, which were all ordered from the terror group five months ago, around the same time as the deadly pagers.
State media also reported that solar energy systems exploded in Beirut and southern Lebanon on Wednesday, injuring at least one girl.
At least one of the new blasts heard took place near a funeral organized by the terror group for those killed in the first wave of explosions, which Hezbollah has blamed Israel for, Reuters reported.
While the initial blast targeted Hezbollah operatives, health officials confirmed that civilians were also caught up in the widespread blasts, with two children listed among the dead.
Officials have yet to confirm the links between the two attacks or list all of the devices that exploded on Wednesday.
However, Axios reported that Israeli agents detonated the remaining booby-trapped devices Wednesday because they believed Hezbollah would quickly find and dispose of the remaining explosives.
As much as the blasts had a physical effect on Hezbollah — maiming thousands of fighters — the damage to the militant group’s operational capabilities will have lasting consequences, potentially blunting future plans for attacking Israel, experts say.
“The injuries may heal but Hezbollah will suffer embarrassment at its failure to have good operational security, and it will lead it to be suspicious of its own internal networks for years to come,” adjunct fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies Seth J. Frantzman told The Post.
Because the nature of the attacks suggests Mossad is deeply embedded in Hezbollah’s ranks, the terrorist organization will likely also grow increasingly suspicious of even its own members, director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Middle East program Jon Alterman told The Post.
“Hezbollah must wonder if their supply chains for everything they buy on the open market are secure. Did someone in the organization betray them? Do they have things in their possession that are also booby-trapped?” he said.
“They will be tearing themselves apart for weeks.”
The AR-924 pagers that were detonated on Tuesday were all the latest models acquired by Hezbollah five months ago and allegedly manufactured in Budapest, according to a statement released by Gold Apollo — a Taiwanese firm that authorized the use of its brand on the pagers.
Hungarian officials however, deny the allegations, saying it has no such manufacturing facility in the country.
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“Authorities have confirmed that the company in question is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary,” government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said in a statement.
“The referenced devices have never been in Hungary,” he added.
Israel allegedly hid explosive material in the Taiwan-made Gold Apollo pagers before they were imported to Lebanon, the New York Times reported, citing US and other officials briefed on the operation.
The material was implanted next to the battery with a switch that could be triggered remotely to detonate.
The exploding pagers were then detonated by a message impersonating the leaders of the group on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
Following Tuesday’s attack, The Israeli Defense Forces said Hezbollah fired a 10 rocket barrage across the border, hitting open areas in northern Israel.
The Iran-backed terrorist group has vowed to retaliate against Israel for its alleged role in the communication device explosions.
“The resistance will continue today, like any other day, its operations to support Gaza, its people and its resistance which is a separate path from the harsh punishment that the criminal enemy (Israel) should await in response to Tuesday’s massacre,” a statement from Hezbollah read.
“This is another reckoning that will come, God willing,” the group added.
Hashim Safi Al Din, a top Hezbollah official and relative of terror chief Hassan Nasrallah issued a more ominous warning.
“These attacks will certainly be uniquely punished; there will be a bloodily unique revenge,” he said in a statement.
Safi Al Din claimed Nasrallah would publicly address the latest attacks in Lebanon on Thursday.
With Post wires
