From pager beeps to walkie-talkie blasts: Mysterious attack on Hezbollah unravelled

The alleged Israeli attack on the members of Hezbollah via their pagers was strange, sophisticated and the impact of target was unprecedented.

Hezbollah's fighters and people from political families, were among the 20 people who were killed and over 3,000 injured, including

Since Hezbollah has reduced the use of mobile phones by its forces because Israel could easily detect and target them, pagers have increasingly become the preferred messaging device within the group.

With information still trickling in, the first round of blasts began in Lebanon's capital Beirut and several other areas of the country on Tuesday.

Images posted on social media showed vehicles on fire and smoke rising from a residential area as reports came in of walkie-talkie radios and even solar cells exploding.

Witnesses also reported smoke from people's pockets, before seeing small explosions that sounded like fireworks and gunshots.

Citing US officials, the New York Times said that the pagers beeped messages that appeared to be coming from Hezbollah's leadership before it set on blast. The messages instead appeared to trigger the devices, the outlet reported.

Explosions continued for around an hour after the initial blasts, the Reuters news agency reported.

Soon after, scores of people began arriving at hospitals across Lebanon, with witnesses reporting mass confusion in emergency departments. Similar scenes were witnessed out across the country in another round of blasts on Wednesday.

Reports suggest it was walkie-talkies that were blown up, devices that were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, according to a security source speaking to Reuters.

What we know of walkie-talkies devices

Footage shot in the aftermath showed destroyed devices bearing the brand Icom, a Japanese company. The hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time as the pagers.

Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed ICOM said on Thursday it was investigating news reports two-way radio devices bearing its logo exploded in Lebanon and would release updated information as it becomes available on its website.

The company, which says it manufactures all of its radios in Japan, could not confirm whether it had shipped the device, in part because that model had been discontinued 10 years ago. The company has previously warned about counterfeit versions of its devices circulating in the market, especially discontinued models.

Despite the ongoing tensions, observers say that until now both sides have aimed to contain hostilities without crossing the line into full-scale war. But there are fears that the situation could spiral out of control.