Lebanon-Israel: Israel's spy agency Mossad is suspected of being behind the explosion of walkie-talkies used by the Hezbollah group that claimed the lives of at least 20 people while injuring at least 400 others in South Lebanon on September 18, stated reports.
However, fewer details have emerged about Wednesday’s walkie-talkie blasts, but a security source told Reuters that they had been bought by Hezbollah five months ago, about the same time that the pagers were bought.
A senior Lebanese security source who spoke with Reuters said a small amount of explosives was embedded in a new shipment of 5,000 pagers ordered by Hezbollah for its members.
“The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner,” the source said, reported The Guardian.
Reuters also reported that another source said about three grams of explosives had been concealed in the new pagers, which went undetected by Hezbollah for months. The source noted that 3,000 of these pagers detonated when a coded message was sent, triggering the explosives simultaneously.
An American official speaking to the New York Times made similar claims, stating that the devices had been tampered with before their arrival in Lebanon. Each pager reportedly contained explosive material hidden next to the battery, along with a switch for remotely detonating the device, added the source.
The Mossad has not commented on either the pager or the walky-talky attack.
While Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosions, Israel has not commented on the incident.
According to a report by the BBC, footage shot in the aftermath of the blasts showed destroyed devices bearing the brand ICOM, a Japanese company. The inside panels of the devices revealed the tags “ICOM” and “made in Japan.”
Responding to the situation, ICOM issued a brief statement on its website that it was aware of media reports that walkie-talkies with stickers bearing its logo had exploded in Lebanon.
“Earlier today, in worldwide media, there were reports that two-way radio devices bearing the ICOM logo had exploded in Lebanon. We are currently investigating the facts surrounding this matter. We will release updated information as it becomes available on our website," said the manufacturer in its release on September 19, 2024.
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