At least 12 people including two children were killed and thousands more injured, after pagers used by the armed group Hezbollah to communicate dramatically exploded across the country on Tuesday.
Analysis of fragments from the pagers suggested they were made by the Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo, but the CEO denied this and said they had been made under licence by a company in Hungary.
On Wednesday afternoon there were reports of further explosions involving walkie-talkies in southern Beirut.
The blasts began in Lebanon's capital Beirut and several other areas of the country at about 15:45 local time (13:45 BST) on Tuesday.
Witnesses reported seeing smoke coming from people's pockets, before seeing small explosions that sounded like fireworks and gunshots.
In one clip, CCTV footage appeared to show an explosion in a man’s trouser pocket as he stood at a shop till.
Citing US officials, the New York Times said that the pagers received messages that appeared to be coming from Hezbollah's leadership before detonating. 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 scenes of mass confusion.
Analysts said the most likely explanation was a supply chain attack that saw the pagers tampered with during manufacture or transit.
A Lebanese security source as said that a small quantity of explosives had been placed inside the devices months ago.
Speaking to the Press, one ex-British Army munitions expert, who asked not to be named, speculated that the devices could have then been triggered by a remote signal.
One Hezbollah operative told the news agency that the pagers were a new brand that the group had not used before. A Lebanese security official said that around 5,000 pagers were brought into the country about five months ago.
Labels seen on fragments of exploded pagers point to a pager model called the Rugged Pager AR-924. But its Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo has denied any involvement with the explosions. Immediately after the attack, news agencies visited Gold Apollo on Wednesday local police were swarming the company's offices, inspecting documents and questioning staff.
Unnamed US and Israeli officials told Axios that detonating the pagers all at once was initially planned as the opening move in an "all-out" offensive against Hezbollah. But in recent days Israel became concerned Hezbollah had become aware of the plan - so they were set off early.
Israeli officials have not commented on the allegations, but most analysts agree that it seems likely it is behind the attack.
Prof Simon Mabon, chair in International Relations at Lancaster University, told the press: "We know that Israel has a precedent of using technology to track its target" - but he called the scale of this attack "unprecedented".
Lina Khatib, from the UK-based Chatham House, said the attack suggested that Israel has "deeply" infiltrated Hezbollah's "communications network".
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the explosions represented a “serious violation of Lebanese sovereignty and a crime by all standards”.
In its statement accusing Israel of being behind the attacks, Hezbollah said it held the country "fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians".
The attacks, which were widely believed to be carried out by Israel targeting Hezbollah, have hiked fears that the two sides’ simmering conflict could escalate into all-out war.
Speaking to Israeli troops on Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.” He made no mention of the explosions of electronic devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”
In Wednesday’s attacks, several blasts were heard at a funeral in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene. An AP photographer in the southern coastal city of Sidon saw a car and a mobile phone shop damaged after devices exploded inside of them. A girl was hurt in the south when a solar energy system blew up, the state news agency reported.
While the pagers were used by Hezbollah members, there was no guarantee who was holding the device at the time of the blast. Also, many of the casualties were not Hezbollah fighters, but members of the group’s extensive civilian operations mainly serving Lebanon’s Shiite community.
At least two health workers were among those killed Tuesday. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, charity workers, teachers and office administrators work for Hezbollah-linked organizations, and an unknown number had pagers.
Israeli leaders have issued a series of warnings in recent weeks that they might increase operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, saying they must put a stop to the exchanges to allow people to return to homes near the border. Israel began moving more troops to its border with Lebanon on Wednesday as a precautionary measure, according to an official with knowledge of the movements who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
In his comments, Gallant said that after months of fighting Hamas in Gaza, “the center of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces.”
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top security officials at Israeli military headquarters in Tel Aviv, the country’s army chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said plans have been drawn up for additional action against Hezbollah.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the U.S. is still assessing how the attack could affect efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas.
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