Walkie-talkies carried by members of the Shiite terrorist group exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday, just a day after thousands of pagers—purchased by the group to avoid Israeli surveillance of mobile phones—detonated on unsuspecting fighters, killing 12 people and injuring more than 2,800. Twenty people died, and hundreds were injured in this second wave of explosions.
Home solar energy systems also exploded in Beirut in the second round of detonations yesterday, which Israeli officials have not commented on, as well as fingerprint locks and other electronic devices.
The terrorist group has been left in a state of disarray by the explosions, which investigations suggest were part of an intelligence-led “complex plan” in which explosives were planted in thousands of devices destined for Hezbollah fighters and later detonated by a remote signal. There are even concerns within the terrorist group about the possibility of insiders collaborating with Israel.
Much can be said about the intelligence advantages of the apparent operation, which is said to have exposed the identities of many terrorist operatives and commanders.
A U.S. official cited in Reuters claims that Israel told Washington on Tuesday it was going to do “something” in Lebanon, without specifying what. Amid the explosions, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “the center of gravity is shifting to the north. This means that we are moving forces, resources and energy to the north,” meaning towards the Lebanon border. Gallant added:
I estimate that we are at the start of a new phase in this war.
Israel has been engaged in cross-border warfare with Hezbollah terrorists since the October 7th terror attacks. Western officials are now working to lower tensions for fear of a full-blown regional war. But Herzi Halevi, Israel’s top general, suggested in a visit to the military’s northern command that more is yet to come:
We have many capabilities that we haven’t yet activated, that we haven’t seen yet activated, we’ve seen here some of [the] things.
The United Nations Security Council will meet on Friday to discuss recent events, while Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will deliver a speech today, on September 19th, on the developing situation.
