Exploding gadgets deathtoll rises in Lebanon as Israel steps up talk of war

Lebanon’s death toll from a series of walkie-talkie and pager explosions this week rose to 37, according to local authorities, an illustration of the devastation wrought by a wave of suspected Israeli attacks against Hezbollah militants.

A second wave of blasts on Wednesday killed 25 and injured more than 600, the Lebanese health ministry said. Some occurred at funerals for Hezbollah members who died the previous day when thousands of pagers — most of them carried by the Iran-backed group — exploded in supermarkets, streets and homes across the country. Two children were killed in the near simultaneous detonations, while around 2,300 people were wounded.

The attacks have increased fears of a full-blown war between Hezbollah and Israel, which neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the operations. Israel has diverted more troops to its northern border with Lebanon in recent days, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declaring a “new phase” in the country’s battles with Islamist militant groups.

While there are few signals an invasion of Lebanon is imminent, Israeli officials are increasingly saying diplomacy with Hezbollah is failing and they’ll be forced into more aggressive action to move the group’s fighters and weapons away form the border.

Israel continues to fight Hamas in Gaza and cease-fire talks remain stalled. But the intensity of that conflict is easing as the Palestinian militant group suffers more losses. Like Hezbollah, Hamas is backed by Iran and considered a terrorist organization by the U.S.

“The center of gravity is moving north, meaning that we are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern arena,” Gallant said at an air base in northern Israel.

Hezbollah is the strongest of the regional groups fighting Israel, with tens of thousands of fighters and at least as many missiles and rockets, according to Israeli intelligence estimates. Many Israelis fear the group could overwhelm their country’s vaunted air defenses in the event of an escalation.

The two sides have been trading fire since the war in Gaza erupted in October, though have largely limited their strikes to military targets, usually near the border area. Hezbollah says it’s acting in solidarity with Hamas and won’t stop its attacks until Israel agrees to a cease-fire in the territory.

It’s unclear to what extent this week’s blasts in Lebanon have dented Hezbollah’s fighting capacity. The group has said it will retaliate and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is due to make a speech later on Thursday.

Either way, the operations have been hugely embarrassing for Hezbollah and may have been designed to inflict a psychological blow on the group. Israeli analysts have said the explosions will probably make it harder for the Shiite organization’s leaders and commanders to communicate, since they will fear more of their devices have been sabotaged.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country would lodge a complaint against Israel at the United Nations and asked the UN Security Council, which is set to meet Friday to discuss the situation, for a resolution to deter Israel from such attacks.

The premier as well as Speaker Nabih Berri, Hezbollah’s main political ally in Lebanon, received calls from French President Emmanuel Macron, according to state-run National News Agency.

Hezbollah members often use pagers and walkie-talkies — gadgets considered obsolete in much of the world — because they were viewed as harder for Israeli security services to infiltrate given their low-tech nature. Speculation is rife about how the blasts were orchestrated — but many cybersecurity experts say it’s likely explosives were planted inside the devices.

Iran, whose ambassador to Lebanon was injured in the blasts on Tuesday, has threatened to retaliate against Israel.

Tens of thousands of civilians have had to leave their homes in southern Lebanon and northern Israel because of the skirmishes. Israel made returning its citizens an official war objective on Monday. Many politicians say an invasion of southern Lebanon is needed to push Hezbollah fighters back.

The U.S. is trying to calm tensions and is urging Israel not to escalate its attacks to the point of causing an all-out war.

—With assistance from Dan Williams.