At least 32 Communications equipment used by the militant group Hezbollah was blown up across Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday, killing several people, including two children, and wounding thousands, many seriously.
In the latest explosion on Wednesday, 20 people were killed when a walkie-talkie exploded. At least 450 people were injured, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
The blasts occurred near a crowd of people attending funerals for four victims of a series of simultaneous bomb blasts on Tuesday that killed at least 12 people and injured more than 3,000.
BBC reporters reported on the chaotic scenes as ambulances struggled to reach the injured, and local residents became suspicious of people using mobile phones.
The explosion came a day after a similar, highly sophisticated attack targeting thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah members, deepening anxiety in Lebanon.
The militant group has blamed its adversary Israel. Israeli officials have so far declined to comment.
Two companies based in Taiwan and Hungary were reported in the press to have manufactured the phaser, but both companies denied responsibility, and the Taiwanese government said other components of the phaser were not made in Taiwan.
“We are confident that the components in question are low-cost ICs (integrated circuits) and batteries, and are not made in Taiwan,” said Guo Jihui, the Minister of Economic Affairs.
The Japanese company that makes the radios said it stopped producing the model 10 years ago.
Here’s what we know so far:
