Hundreds of pagers belonging to the armed group Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, resulting in at least 12 deaths and approximately 2,750 injuries.

Similar incidents occurred in Syria, where some pagers also detonated, causing additional injuries. The following day, more explosions involving walkie-talkies and other electronic devices claimed 14 lives.

Most Experts suggest these blasts may breach international humanitarian law, particularly the ban on indiscriminate attacks.

Just one day after the initial pager explosions in Lebanon, additional blasts involving handheld devices like walkie-talkies, laptops, and radios killed 14 more people and injured 450 others. By Wednesday, reports of simultaneous explosions spread quickly via messaging apps, accompanied by images of burning buildings and damaged walkie-talkies.

Here’s what we know so far-

1) Where did the new explosions happen in Lebanon?

The exact locations are still being confirmed, but several explosions were reported on Wednesday afternoon in the southern suburbs of Beirut and the southern city of Tyre.

Social media images showed vehicles engulfed in flames and smoke billowing from residential areas, with reports indicating that walkie-talkie radios and even solar cells were among the items exploding.

2) What exploded?

Various devices have been reported to have blown up, including walkie-talkie radios, mobile phones, laptops, and some solar energy systems.

Several cars also reportedly exploded, though it’s unclear whether the vehicles themselves or something inside them caused the blasts.

3) What are the walkie-talkie radios that exploded?

Walkie-talkies are handheld, two-way radio devices that allow users to communicate within a short range. However, the devices involved in these incidents appear to be IC-V82 radios manufactured by the Japanese company ICOM.

These radios have a much greater range than standard walkie-talkies and are generally used by amateur operators for personal communication, rather than for commercial or emergency purposes, according to reports from The Jerusalem Post.

4) How do you make walkie-talkie radios explode?

Details are still emerging, but some observers have speculated that Wednesday’s explosions may be similar to the previous pager blasts.

In the case of the pagers, it is believed that the supply chain may have been infiltrated, with the devices being loaded with small amounts of powerful explosives—between 1 to 3 grams (0.04 to 0.11 oz).

Some Hezbollah members suspect that the explosions are linked to the batteries. After one radio exploded during a funeral in a southern suburb of Beirut, several individuals quickly removed the batteries from their radios and threw them away, according to Reuters.

Both pagers and radios use radio transmission and reception, which may be a common factor in the blasts.

While most of the affected devices appear to be communication systems, there have also been reports of other equipment, such as solar panels, exploding. At least one of these explosions injured a girl.

5) Who is being blamed for the explosions?

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have accused Israel of being behind the blasts, though Israel has not issued a response.

6) Why would Israel carry out the blasts?

Israel’s long-term strategy remains unclear, but these attacks represent a significant escalation in its conflict with Hezbollah and Lebanon.

The explosions follow months of low-intensity conflict between the two sides and have reignited fears of an all-out war.

On Wednesday evening, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant heightened concerns by announcing that Israeli military forces would be redirected from Gaza to the northern border with Lebanon, further increasing tensions.

7) How significant is this for Hezbollah?

The explosions represent a severe security breach for Hezbollah and serve as a psychological blow to the group.

Some analysts believe the attacks may have damaged Hezbollah’s image domestically. However, according to security and political analyst Elijah Magnier, Hezbollah’s communication systems remained largely operational after the first wave of attacks.

Thousands of older pagers were reportedly unaffected, and the group has alternative secure communication channels in place.

Panic has spread throughout Lebanon, with citizens discarding their devices or bringing them to shops for inspection.

At the American Hospital in Beirut, the Lebanese army conducted a controlled detonation of an unexploded device found by medical staff inside an ambulance.

On Wednesday, before the latest explosions, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching rockets at Israeli artillery positions, marking the first strike on Israel since the initial attacks, according to Reuters.

8) Do the Lebanon explosions violate the laws of war?

The recent explosions of wireless communication devices across Lebanon, widely attributed to Israel, likely breach the laws of war, according to experts.

These blasts may violate prohibitions against indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks, given that they have killed dozens and injured thousands.

“You’re not supposed to booby-trap objects that civilians are likely to pick up and use, or objects commonly associated with civilian life,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, a lawyer and director of the US-based rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN).

“This is exactly why we’re seeing such devastation in Lebanon. Anyone could have picked up one of these pagers, and we don’t know whether the individuals holding them were legitimate military targets.”

The explosions—triggered by devices like pagers, walkie-talkies, and cellphones believed to be connected to Hezbollah members—occurred in two waves on Tuesday and Wednesday. While Hezbollah quickly blamed Israel, the Israeli military has not commented.

Scenes of panic erupted across Lebanon, a country of over five million, with residents fleeing into the streets in terror and hospitals overwhelmed by the injured.

Indiscriminate attacks

Although Israel has not confirmed its involvement, it often justifies military actions as part of its fight against “terrorism.”

Supporters of Israel have claimed the explosions were “precise,” but they occurred in civilian settings—funerals, residential areas, grocery stores, and even barber shops.

International humanitarian law (IHL), a body of rules designed to protect civilians in conflict, prohibits attacks that are not directed at a specific military target. Whitson described the explosions as “inherently indiscriminate.”

“They cannot be aimed at a specific military target, and it was predictable that both civilians and military targets would be affected without distinction,” she explained.

Whitson further argued that the use of booby traps in ordinary civilian objects is illegal because they cause both physical and psychological harm. She described the blasts as a deliberate attempt by Israel to spread chaos in Lebanon.

Violation of international protocols

Huwaida Arraf, a US-based human rights lawyer, echoed Whitson’s views.

She noted that the explosions violated the ban on indiscriminate attacks and the prohibition against booby-trapping civilian objects, as outlined in the 1996 UN Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps, and Other Devices.

The protocol forbids the use of booby traps in the form of seemingly harmless portable objects designed to contain explosive materials.

According to Arraf, these attacks could only be lawful if measures were taken to protect civilians and ensure the explosives targeted legitimate military objectives. However, the devices detonated across Lebanon without any warning.

“There are apologists arguing these were targeted strikes,” Arraf told media “But as we learn more, we see bombs going off in public spaces like supermarkets. If the target was the civilian population, that is no less unlawful and constitutes state terrorism.”

While Hezbollah is involved in military activities, it also operates as a political group with affiliated social services. Some of the explosions killed Hezbollah members who were not combatants, including a medic working at a hospital linked to Hezbollah charities.

Under IHL, civil servants are considered civilians unless they directly participate in military operations. Arraf noted, “Would anyone suggest that all Israelis affiliated with political parties in Israel’s government are legitimate targets?”

Proportionality

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch highlighted that restrictions on booby traps are specifically designed to prevent the kind of devastation currently unfolding in Lebanon due to the recent explosions.

“The use of an explosive device when its precise location cannot be reliably known is unlawfully indiscriminate, as it cannot be directed at a specific military target.

As a result, it strikes both military targets and civilians without distinction,” said Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch’s Middle East director, in a statement. She also called for an urgent and impartial investigation into the incidents.

Craig Martin, a law professor at Washburn University in the US, was more cautious in his evaluation but suggested the attacks may violate provisions of international humanitarian law (IHL), particularly the principles of proportionality and precautions aimed at protecting civilians.

Proportionality means that any harm to civilians must not be excessive in relation to the “concrete and direct military advantage anticipated.”

“If you don’t know the exact location of these explosives or who will be harmed, it’s difficult to see how a proportionality assessment could have been made for each individual attack,” Martin stated. He added that the strategic objective of the attack remains unclear.

Despite the explosions, Hezbollah continued its military strikes against northern Israel on Wednesday, indicating that the blasts did not significantly impair the group’s operational capabilities.

Martin also emphasized that beyond direct injuries and the terror inflicted on civilians, the “foreseeable” impact on Lebanon’s healthcare system should be part of the proportionality analysis.

“The disruption to Lebanon’s emergency medical infrastructure, particularly in Beirut, is a concrete harm that should be factored into the proportionality assessment,” Martin said.

He speculated that further research may show that people who were not directly injured in the explosions suffered due to the overwhelmed hospitals.

How did Hezbollah get the pagers that exploded in Lebanon?

Many analysts suggest the key to understanding the explosions may lie in how Hezbollah obtained the devices in the first place—raising questions about whether the pagers were tampered with.

What happened to Hezbollah’s pagers?

At around 3:30 p.m. (12:30 GMT) on Tuesday, hundreds of pagers began exploding throughout Lebanon.

Hezbollah issued a statement confirming that two of its fighters and a girl were killed in the blasts, which involved “pagers belonging to employees of various Hezbollah units and institutions.”

The group attributed the explosions to Israel, citing the ongoing hostilities between the two across the Lebanon-Israel border, which intensified following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict.

According to a Lebanese security source and another source who spoke to Reuters, Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad allegedly planted explosives in 5,000 pagers ordered by Hezbollah months prior.

The sources claim a code was then sent to 3,000 of these pagers simultaneously, triggering the explosions.

How did the Hezbollah pagers explode?

The precise method behind the pager explosions remains unclear, but several theories have emerged.

Some experts suggest that the radio system the pagers rely on may have been compromised, possibly through a manipulated code. Another possibility is that the batteries of the pagers were engineered to overheat, leading to a thermal runaway reaction that caused the explosions.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British army officer and chemical weapons expert, speculates that the pagers might have been tampered with during the supply chain, potentially being wired to explode on command.

Brussels-based military and political analyst Elijah Magnier provided insights from initial investigations conducted by Hezbollah on the unexploded pagers.

According to these investigations, each pager might have contained 1 to 3 grams (0.04 to 0.11 oz) of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), a powerful explosive.

How were the explosives placed in the pagers?

Lebanon faces numerous sanctions from the United States, European Union, and their allies, who classify Hezbollah as a “terrorist” organization.

This has made direct transactions, especially involving technology, with Hezbollah and Lebanon challenging.

Magnier reports that the pagers procured by Hezbollah were held by a third party at a port for three months awaiting clearance before being delivered to the group. Hezbollah suspects that Israel used this period to insert explosives into the devices.

Hezbollah’s investigation reveals that metal balls were placed around the pager batteries, designed to amplify the explosive effect by propelling metal fragments outward, significantly increasing the blast’s lethality. This tampering is believed to have occurred during the shipment’s three-month hold.

Where were the pagers manufactured and when?

The exploded pagers are marked with the trademark of Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, specifically the AR-924 model.

However, Gold Apollo has stated that while its logo appears on the devices, the pagers were actually produced by a Hungarian company called BAC under a licensing agreement.

Gold Apollo clarified, “The design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC. We only provide brand trademark authorization and have no involvement in the design or manufacturing of this product.” BAC has yet to comment.

The evidence suggests that Hezbollah acquired the pagers around February, following an order from the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, to stop using cellphones due to their vulnerability to Israeli intelligence interception.

What do we know about BAC?

BAC Consulting, based in Budapest, Hungary, is reportedly located in a peach-colored residential building.

Although the company’s name is posted there, an anonymous source indicated that BAC does not have a physical presence at the location despite being registered there.

LinkedIn profiles identify BAC’s CEO as Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, who has worked with various organizations, including UNESCO.

Her profile describes BAC as offering business development, management consultancy, strategy, and partnership planning, aiming to guide clients toward innovation, sustainability, and equity.