Israel stuns Hizbullah and Lebanon with pager and walkie talkie attacks

Unprecedented method of spy-craft ushers in new era of warfare

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Hizbullah fighters and mourners attend a funeral of people killed after hundreds of paging devices exploded in a deadly wave across Lebanon on September 18, 2024. Photograph: Anwar Amro / AFP.

At least 26 people are dead and thousands injured following the simultaneous detonating of pagers and walkie talkies in Lebanon.

Israel is believed to be behind the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, which were designed as much to cause a macabre spectacle as they were to kill Hizbullah fighters.

Hannah McCarthy reports from Beirut for The Irish Times. Security analyst Colin P. Clark of New York’s Soufan Center looks at why Israel made this move.

Presented by Aideen Finnegan. Produced by Declan Conlon and Aideen Finnegan.