Lebanon rocked by deadly walkie-talkie and pager attacks

Hezbollah is on the backfoot. The first sign of that was the absence of a public gathering – typically consisting of high-level party officials and supporters – to watch the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah deliver a televised speech on Thursday.

The second sign was that Nasrallah’s address – his first since two waves of attacks detonated thousands of Hezbollah wireless devices earlier this week – was very possibly pre-recorded.

The leader of the powerful militant group has not delivered a speech in person since the start of Lebanon’s last all-out war with Israel in 2006. But he will often make a point of proving that his broadcasts are being carried by a live transmission. In his speech last month, for example, Nasrallah referenced two sonic booms caused by Israeli jets that had broken the sound barrier over Beirut. These happened in the seconds leading up to the start of his address.

Read more analysis on the state of Hezbollah after the deadly attacks

The father of an American hostage still being held in Gaza by Hamas criticized the deadly attacks in Lebanon that caused pagers and walkie-talkies to explode killing dozens, saying that “this pager, Mission Impossible action, it’s like treating agony with more agony.”

Adi Alexander, whose son Edan Alexander is being held, said in an interview on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” that “this vicious cycle of violence needs to stop.”

Israel has not officially taken credit for the attacks, but CNN has reported that Tuesday’s operation was a joint effort between the IDF and Mossad.

Alexander sat down with Tapper along with other family members of Americans being held by the terror group on Wednesday as the 1-year anniversary of Hamas’s brutal October 7 attack approaches. As it stands the prospects of a deal being agreed that would free the hostages and halt the fighting in Gaza seem remote.

Instead, the conflict appears to be spreading. On Thursday, Israel launched airstrikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and on Wednesday Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant stated a “new era” of war is beginning.

Read more about what the families said

At least two soldiers have been killed in combat in northern Israel, the Israeli military said on Thursday without elaborating on the circumstances of their deaths.

A third soldier was severely injured and taken to a hospital for treatment, it also said.

Israel and Hezbollah were engaged in cross-border strikes on Thursday.

Israel said it conducted strikes against several Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, across Israel’s northern border. Hezbollah meanwhile said it launched at least 17 rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel on Thursday. 

The State Department said that the United States was not involved in the walkie-talkie attacks in Lebanon on Wednesday, but wouldn’t say that the US was not aware of it.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday also would only say the US was not involved in that attack or the pager attacks a day prior.

CNN reported Wednesday that Israeli officials notified the US that the country was going to carry out an operation in Lebanon on Tuesday but did not give any details about what they were planning, according to three sources familiar with the matter, including in a call between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant early Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday, following the explosion of pagers in Lebanon in an attack carried out by Israel, Miller said that “the US was not aware of this incident in advance.”

Miller on Thursday doubled down on that statement, saying it was “absolutely accurate.”

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller speaks during a news briefing in Washington, DC in 2023.

The United States does not want to see “any party escalate this conflict,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said after the Israeli defense minister spoke of a “new phase in the war” and the Israel Defense Forces announced strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

“It continues to be a very dangerous situation,” Miller said, but noted that the risk of escalation has been present since October 7, 2023. 

The US has stressed the need for a diplomatic solution to the situation on Israel’s northern border both publicly and privately with Israeli officials, Miller said, claiming the Israeli government still wants a diplomatic solution.

“You can look at their public statements and judge for yourself where they’re going, but we still do hear them say that they prefer a diplomatic resolution,” he said at a news briefing.

Asked repeatedly if the US is prepared to continue to back Israel if they open another front in the war, Miller said the US is “committed to the defense of Israel against terrorist organizations, that includes Hamas, includes Hezbollah, includes other Iranian proxies.” 

The Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

Israel’s Air Force hit 30 launchers and “terrorist infrastructure sites” containing more than 100 launcher barrels. The Israeli aerial attack also hit a weapons storage facility, it said.

The strikes follow Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s vow on Thursday that Israeli military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon will continue.

Hezbollah’s response: The Iran-backed group launched at least 17 attacks into northern Israel on Thursday, according to its statements on Telegram. In a series of statements claiming each attack, the group said it struck Israeli military targets with drones and rockets. At least six of those attacks were launched after 12:30 p.m. ET.

This latest escalation comes after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah earlier in the day hinted at retaliation against Israel for this week’s deadly pager and walkie-talkie explosions targeting Hezbollah members. 

This post has been updated with statements from Hezbollah.

Rockets fired from southern Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system over northern Israel, on August 4.

Israel and Hezbollah — a powerful Iran-backed paramilitary group in Lebanon — have been at conflict for decades, but the two have ramped up cross-border attacks on each other since last October when the war in Gaza began.

This week’s events in Lebanon, which saw a pair of deadly attacks using explosives planted in wireless devices carried by Hezbollah fighters, have drawn sharper focus to the long-simmering conflict.

Israel’s defense minister says a “new era” of war is beginning and “the center of gravity is moving north,” referencing the country’s border with Lebanon. Hezbollah’s leader says the wireless device attacks “crossed all the red lines” and has hinted at possible retaliation.

Here’s how we got to this point:

A “supportive front” for Gaza: Hezbollah is part of a larger Iran-led axis across the Middle East spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq that has engaged in increased clashes with Israel and its allies over the past 10 months.

The axis has said they will continue striking Israeli targets as long as the war in Gaza goes on, rebranding themselves as a “supportive front” for Palestinians in the strip, as described by a senior Hezbollah leader.

Killing of key leader: After months of tit-for-tat exchanges, tensions rose further when Israel said it killed Hezbollah’s most senior military commander with a strike on Beirut, Lebanon, in late July.

Israel held the commander, Fu’ad Shukr, responsible for a deadly attack on the Israeli-occupied town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, which Hezbollah has denied responsibility for.

In retaliation, Hezbollah launched more than 300 drones and missiles at targets in Israel on August 25. Israel denied any important targets were struck, and no evidence has been made public to contradict that denial.

Displaced residents: The increase in cross-border fighting has forced people from their homes in both northern Israel and southern Lebanon.

On Tuesday, Israel made it a new war objective to return tens of thousands of Israel’s northern residents to their homes near the border. Officials and residents from the northern region have placed increasing pressure on the Israeli government about the need to return.

Meanwhile, more than 100,000 people have been displaced from southern Lebanon, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Hezbollah’s arsenal: Hezbollah is believed to be the most heavily armed non-state group in the world. Though no match for Israel’s military might, the group’s increasingly sophisticated arsenal has the potential to inflict significant damage.

With that said, Hezbollah has been backed into a corner by Israel’s latest attacks, with its credibility as the most well-equipped, well-trained and highly disciplined of Iran’s proxies now at risk, CNN’s Ben Wedeman writes.

Security consultations are underway at Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, according to an Israeli official. 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Defense Minster Yoav Gallant and Foreign Minister Israel Katz were at the meetings on Thursday, the official told CNN. 

The consultations come as the Israeli military is striking targets across Israel’s northern border into Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that top commander Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi has approved plans “for the northern arena.”  

Gallant warned Wednesday that a “new era” of war was beginning.

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on September 19.

Israel is striking targets in Lebanon on Thursday as the country is reeling from deadly back-to-back attacks targeting Hezbollah members this week.

Pagers simultaneously exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday, then walkie-talkies detonated in a similar fashion on Wednesday.

The leader of the Iran-backed militant group hinted at possible retaliation while Israel said it would continue its attacks — pushing the region to the brink of a wider conflict.

Here’s what to know today.

The latest death toll: Lebanon’s health ministry has said 37 people were killed in the device attacks and does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Hezbollah said at least 38 of its members have been killed since Tuesday afternoon, but didn’t provide details on the circumstances of the deaths.

What Hezbollah’s leader said: Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech on Thursday condemning the two attacks targeting Hezbollah devices.

What Israel has been saying and doing: Additional airstrikes on top of the device attacks come after Israel’s defense minister said that a “new era” in Israel’s war effort was beginning. 

Global reaction: A group of United Nations experts said in a statement the device attacks in Lebanon “violate the human right to life” and are violations of international law. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for restraint in Lebanon and said any further escalatory actions in the Middle East could make ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas “even more difficult.” Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Israel “will soon” face “a decisive and crushing response from (the) axis of resistance.”

Israeli military action against Hezbollah in Lebanon will continue, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vowed on Thursday.

“Our goal is to ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes. As time goes by, Hezbollah will pay an increasing price,” he said in a statement while meeting with military commanders.

The Israeli military on Thursday struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, and the Israel Defense Forces said that Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the general staff, “completed approval of plans for the northern arena.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Paris on September 19.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for “restraint … when it comes to Lebanon in particular” and said any further escalatory actions in the Middle East could make ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas “even more difficult.”

His comments came as the Israel Defense Forces announced strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, following the explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by members of Hezbollah in recent days.

Blinken did not answer a shouted question from CNN about today’s strikes.

That problem, Blinken said, “is the fact that since October 8, Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel; Israel’s been firing back.”

He said the US wants to see the populations on each side of the border be able to return home, “and that requires a secure environment.”

Israel “will soon” face “a decisive and crushing response from (the) axis of resistance,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Hossein Salami told Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, as cited by Iran state-run IRNA news on Thursday. 

Salami’s threat to Israel came in a letter he sent to the head of the Iran-backed Hezbollah on Thursday, when Nasrallah delivered his first public address since two consecutive days of device explosions in Lebanon killed dozens. 

In his letter, Salami said Israel “will gain nothing from the new, extensive” attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday “by blowing up pagers and electronic devices against women, men and children in Lebanon,” according to IRNA.

For context: CNN has learned that Israel was behind Tuesday’s attacks, though Israeli officials have not publicly commented on either day’s explosions. But Israel’s defense minister said Wednesday a “new era” of war was beginning, tacitly acknowledging its role in the wireless device attacks, which have pushed the region back to the brink of wider conflict. 

CNN’s Ben Wedeman had just gone live on air when an Israeli jet flew over Beirut, Lebanon, and dropped what appeared to be flares on the city.

Take a look at what happened:

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A group of United Nations experts released a stern statement after pagers and walkie-talkies exploded this week across Lebanon, saying the attacks “violate the human right to life” and calling them “terrifying” violations of international law.

“We express our deepest solidarity to the victims of these attacks,” they added.

The experts said international humanitarian law may have been breached as it was impossible to know who held the devices at the time they exploded.

“Simultaneous attacks by thousands of devices would inevitably violate humanitarian law, by failing to verify each target, and distinguish between protected civilians and those who could potentially be attacked for taking a direct part in hostilities,” it said.

At least 37 people died in the two attacks across Tuesday and Wednesday, and more than 3,000 others were injured.

Lebanese army soldiers secure the area for an ambulance to enter the premises of the American University hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 17.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah says the group’s leadership was mostly spared during Tuesday’s attack targeting pagers that killed several members in Lebanon as they were using older devices while “new ones were sent elsewhere.”

“In any case, the goal was to kill as many leaders and officials as possible, to strike at Hezbollah’s structure, and to damage its command and control system,” he added. “This was meant to spread chaos, confusion, weakness, and disarray within Hezbollah and the resistance. However, this did not happen for even a single moment.” 

“From the first moment, the leadership and the administration was active and the front was fully prepared. We were prepared for an offensive from the Israelis at the front,” Nasrallah added. 

At least 12 people were killed and around 2,800 injured in Tuesday’s attack, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

People watch the speech of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on a TV screen as they sit in a cafe in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on September 19.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel that the Lebanese front will “not stop” until hostilities end in Gaza.

“We say to (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu and (Israeli Defense Minister Yoav) Gallant … and to the enemy’s government, army, and society: The Lebanese front will not stop until the aggression on Gaza ceases,” he said. 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has called the attacks on the group “unprecedented” but vowed it will not bring them down. 

“There is no doubt that we have suffered a major blow,” he said in his Thursday speech, “both in terms of security and humanity, an unprecedented one in the history of the resistance in Lebanon at least, unprecedented in the history of Lebanon, and it may be unprecedented in the history of the conflict with the Israeli enemy across the entire region, perhaps even unprecedented in the world.” 

“It is the nature of war. One day the enemy will hit us and the next we will hit the enemy,” he added, hinting at possible retaliation.  

“Reckoning will come”: Nasrallah added that the “reckoning will come” following the attacks, and said the group was calling them the “Tuesday and Wednesday massacres.” 

He accused Israel of intending to kill thousands of people holding the pagers. 

“Over the course of two days, and in a single minute on Tuesday and in a single minute on Wednesday, the Israeli enemy intended to kill not less than 5,000 people in two minutes and with no consideration for any restraint,” he said. 

He said this would have amounted to “a mass terrorist event, a mass genocide, a massacre.”

He went on to call it a “massive aggression against Lebanon, its people, its resistance, its sovereignty, and its security, war crimes, or a declaration of war — you can call it anything, and you would be right to call it what you want. Of course this was the (scenario) the enemy intended to do.” 

Nasrallah added that the outcome was far less bloody than it could have been.  

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Khiam near the border with Israel, on September 19.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it is striking targets in Lebanon “to degrade Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.”

In a post on X, the IDF said Hezbollah had “weaponized civilian homes, dug tunnels beneath them and used civilians as human shields—having turned southern Lebanon into a war zone.”

“The IDF is operating to bring security to northern Israel in order to enable the return of residents to their homes and achieve war goals,” it wrote.

For context: It is not unusual for the Israeli military to strike Hezbollah — the two have engaged in near-daily exchanges since October 8 last year. But it comes as the IDF said its top commander has “completed approval of plans for the northern arena,” and a day after Israel’s defense minister said that a “new era” in Israel’s war effort was beginning. 

Ben Wedeman on air for CNN today.

CNN’s Ben Wedeman had just gone live on air when an Israeli military jet flew over Beirut and appeared to drop flares over the Lebanese capital.

“It flew right over the city,” Wedeman said.

CNN reporters in the country heard a sonic boom as the jet entered Beirut’s airspace.

What appeared to be flares were dropped as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s speech was being broadcast to the country.

People watch Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivering a televised address, as they sit at a cafe in Sidon, Lebanon, on September 19.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah condemned the two attacks this week targeting Hezbollah wireless devices, referring to them as “massacres.” 

Nasrallah said Hezbollah will consider the attacks from Tuesday and Wednesday as an addition to the list of the many deadly acts committed by Israel.

He claimed that in the two attacks, “the Israeli enemy aimed to kill at least 5,000 people in just two minutes, without any regard for any regulations.” 

Nasrallah said the attacks “crossed all the red lines,” saying the devices exploded in public areas, harming civilians as well as Hezbollah members.

The translation of Nasrallah’s quote about “red lines” has been updated.

The Israeli military said Thursday its top commander has “completed approval of plans for the northern arena,” as fears grow of an escalation in cross-border tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not elaborate on the statement, only releasing a photo of the commander, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the chief of the general staff, meeting with military colleagues.

The announcement comes one day after Israel’s defense minister said that a “new era” in Israel’s war effort was beginning, after booby-trapped devices belonging to Hezbollah members exploded across two days in Lebanon.

Tacitly acknowledging his country’s role in that operation, Yoav Gallant said the center of gravity of the war was moving north.

“The IDF brings excellent achievements, together with the Shin Bet, together with Mossad, all the bodies and all the frameworks and the results are very impressive results,” Gallant said during a visit to the Ramat-David Air Force base in northern Israel. 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivers an address on September 19.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has started his first speech since the twin attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday by thanking the Lebanese government, medical and emergency services for their response in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.  

Nasrallah praised the unity demonstrated by the Lebanese people.  

Hamas' Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar attends attends a meeting in Gaza City, Gaza, on April 13, 2022.

A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has presented a new proposed ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas to US President Joe Biden’s administration, an Israeli official told CNN.

The proposal from Gal Hirsch, a close Netanyahu ally who serves as Israel’s coordinator for hostages and the missing, would see a permanent end to the conflict in Gaza, the release in one stage of all hostages held there in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and the safe passage for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar to be exiled out of Gaza, according to Kan 11, an Israeli national broadcaster and CNN affiliate.

Reactions to the proposal have widely been that it will be a non-starter for Hamas, which has not commented on it.

It is unclear whether the proposal addresses the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza after a ceasefire and hostage deal — a key sticking point in stalled negotiations. And the idea that Sinwar would leave Gaza is seen as unlikely by American officials.

A separate Israeli source familiar with the negotiations said the proposal was not being discussed among the Israeli negotiating team as a basis for new negotiations with Hamas, which have been at a standstill for weeks now.

For context: Since last October when the war in Gaza began, following Palestinian militant group Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel, Hezbollah and Israel have ramped up their cross-border attacks on each other.

Hezbollah is part of a larger Iran-led axis across the Middle East spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq that has engaged in a simmering conflict with Israel and its allies over the past 10 months.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will soon be speaking after at least 38 Hezbollah members were killed since Tuesday afternoon.

So far, the Iran-backed militants have not provided details on the specific circumstances of the deaths or whether they were caused by the communication device explosions or occurred on the battlefield.

This is an idea of what the walkie-talkies that exploded across Lebanon on Wednesday may have looked like.

The devices that blew up were a discontinued model made by the Japanese firm ICOM, according to Lebanon’s communications ministry.

The IC-V82 radios were not supplied by a recognized agent, were not officially licensed and had not been vetted by the security services, the ministry said.

The company’s website says the IC-V82 has been discontinued, and almost all models in current circulation are counterfeit.

This is an ICOM IC-V82 walkie-talkie:

ICOM IC-V82 walkie-talkie

Over the last 48 hours, Hezbollah’s Telegram channel has also become focused entirely on death announcements.

At least 38 Hezbollah members have been killed since Tuesday afternoon, although the Iran-backed militants did not provide details on the specific circumstances of the deaths or whether they were caused by the communication device explosions or occurred on the battlefield.

Each Telegram announcement includes both the real and alias name of the fighter, along with a profile picture and the phrase “they died on the road to Jerusalem.”

It remains unclear whether these fighters were killed in the communication device explosions or in Israeli airstrikes.

Lebanese army members prepare to carry out a controlled explosion of a battery of a communications device in the town of Qlayaa, Lebanon, on September 19.

The Lebanese Army is detonating “suspicious” pagers and wireless devices across the country after Israel launched covert attacks, exploding pagers and walkie-talkies on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In a statement posted to X, the army urged citizens to stay away from the detonation sites.

People gather as fire fighters put out the flames at the scene of a reported device explosion in Saida, Lebanon, on September 18.

At least 38 Hezbollah members have been killed since Tuesday afternoon, the group says, the deadliest period for the group since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7.

The Iran-backed militants did not provide details on the specific circumstances of the deaths or whether they were caused by the communication device explosions or occurred on the battlefield.

But given Lebanon’s health ministry has announced five battlefield deaths since Tuesday – unrelated to the wireless device attacks and normally indicating the death of Hezbollah fighters — that points to a total of 33 Hezbollah fighters being killed in the attacks targeting wireless devices.

There has been no official confirmation of the number of Hezbollah fighters killed in the explosions, which hit pagers and walkie-talkies.

Lebanon’s health ministry has said 37 people were killed in the attacks, and does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. 

Health Minister Firass Abiad said Thursday that 25 people were killed and 608 injured in Wednesday’s blasts targeting walkie-talkies, and the ministry has put the death toll from Tuesday’s pager explosions at 12.

Speaking outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center, reconstructive surgeon Ghassan Abu Sitta told CNN that there is a long road to recovery for many of those injured by the exploding wireless devices.

On Tuesday, a joint Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Mossad operation blew up pagers across Lebanon, killing 12 and injuring 2,800 more. Then, on Wednesday, walkie-talkies exploded in the country killing at least 25 and wounding 450, taking the death toll across both attacks to 37, according to the Lebanese health ministry.

Abu Sitta said people were presenting to the hospital with injuries to their hand, face and eyes. He said between 50 and 60 surgeries have taken place over the last day, and they expect another 50 to 60 to take place tomorrow.

The surgeon also told CNN that the blasts impacted many family members who happened to be in a car or in the same room as the wireless devices when they exploded.

Correction: This post has been updated to correct the death toll from the attacks in Lebanon across Tuesday and Wednesday.

Palestinian militants move towards the border fence with Israel from Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on October 7, 2023.

Backing for Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel has dropped significantly in Gaza during the last six months, a poll of Palestinians in the enclave shows, as conditions deteriorate after almost a year of war.  

In March, 71% of Palestinians in Gaza who responded to the poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research said they believed that Hamas’ decision to launch the October 7 attack was correct. When the poll was conducted this month, that number stood at just 39%. 

The poll, which has been conducted every three months since September last year, surveyed 410 people across Gaza, in 41 locations, a smaller sample size than when the poll was carried out in March.

The researchers also spoke with 790 people in the West Bank. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.5%. 

Conducting a poll during wartime is of course incredibly difficult – as acknowledged by the pollster. The center said the interviews were conducted in areas where there was no on-going daily fighting.

The survey paints a bleak picture of life in Gaza, with just under a third of people saying they have enough food. Of those polled, 57% say that a family member has been killed during the war. And an increasing number of people there – nearly half – believe that neither Hamas nor Israel will emerge victorious in the war.

Support for Hamas as a political party in Gaza also fell, but has remained relatively stable through the war. With almost no viable political rivals, it remains the most popular political actor there: 35% in Gaza said they supported Hamas, down from a high of 42% in December. 

Hezbollah is believed to be the most heavily armed non-state group in the world. Backed by Iran and based in the eastern Mediterranean country of Lebanon, the Shia Islamist group has been engaged in confrontations with Israeli forces on Lebanon’s southern border since October 8.

The cross-border hostilities have raised the specter of a regional conflagration and prompted intense diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions. Though no match for Israel’s military might, Hezbollah’s increasingly sophisticated arsenal has the potential to inflict significant damage on Israel and its allies in the region.

Put simply: Hezbollah are capable of striking all of Israel. While Israel has a vastly superior military to Hezbollah, the group boasts missiles with a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles). These would have to bypass Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system to cause damage.

Israel would also have to contend with Hezbollah’s strategic depth. The group is part of an Iran-led axis of militants spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq. Some of these groups have increased coordination significantly since last October, when Israel launched a war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants attacked the country. This axis is known in Israel as the “ring of fire.”

Read more about Hezbollah here.

Lebanese army soldiers stand guard as an ambulance arrives following a reported device explosion during a funeral service for people killed the day prior by exploding pagers, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, on September 18.

Lebanon is reeling after facing deadly back-to-back attacks targeting Hezbollah members – with pagers simultaneously exploding across the country on Tuesday, then walkie-talkies detonating in a similar fashion on Wednesday.

At least 32 people, including children, were killed.

Israel’s defense minister said a “new era” of war was beginning, tacitly acknowledging its role in the shock attacks. “The center of gravity is moving north,” Yoav Gallant said, referencing the Lebanon border.

How were the attacks carried out, where did the devices come from, and will this plunge the Middle East into a wider conflict?

Here’s what we know:

How did it happen? Hezbollah bought the pagers that exploded in recent months, a Lebanese security source told CNN. The New York Times reported that Israel planted explosives next to the battery in each pager, as well as a switch for remote detonation, citing US and other officials.

When CNN tried to trace the pagers’ origin, it found a supply chain that stretched from Asia to Europe.

Why now? Israel may have believed Hezbollah had discovered the pagers’ capability – making it a “use it or lose it” moment, said an Israeli source familiar with national security.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may also have wanted to shore up domestic support. Officials and residents from the northern region have become increasingly vocal about the need to return to their homes after being evacuated due to cross-border attacks.

On Tuesday, Israel made it a war objective to return Israel’s northern residents to their homes near the border.

Here’s how Hezbollah, Iran and others reacted.

Israel's military evacuate injured people by helicopter after an anti-tank missile was fired into Israel from Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, near Israel's border with Lebanon in northern Israel September 19, 2024. REUTERS/

Eight Israelis were hospitalized, health officials said Thursday, following reports of an anti-tank missile attack near the border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah said the group had attacked an Israeli military position in an area along the border, “causing a number of casualties and injuries.”

CNN has contacted the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

Israel’s Army Radio station reported that eight people had been injured after an anti-tank missile struck the Ramim Ridge in the Upper Galilee area.

Two of the wounded were evacuated by helicopter to Rambam Hospital in the coastal city of Haifa and have been transferred to surgery, according to the hospital’s spokesperson. The official said they were injured in an “incident,” without providing further details.

Six others were evacuated to Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli city of Safed, according to the hospital, which added that the injured were in “mild” condition.

Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport has banned pagers and walkie-talkies from being carried onto flights, following two days of attacks on wireless devices across Lebanon. 

Any such devices will be confiscated by airport security if found, the notice warns.  

The Israeli military said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure sites and a weapons storage facility in airstrikes on southern Lebanon overnight. 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah infrastructure in six areas — Chihine, Tayibe, Blida, Meiss El Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela — and a weapons storage facility in the area of Khiam. 

In addition, IDF artillery struck “several areas” in southern Lebanon, the military said. 

The extent of the damage is unknown. 

The strikes come after Israel’s defense minister said a “new era” of war was beginning Wednesday, tacitly acknowledging its role in shock twin attacks targeting Hezbollah that have pushed the Middle East back to the brink of wider conflict.

Clara Broekaert speaks with CNN.

Consecutive days of pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon have left a “distinct psychological impact” on the country’s population, according to Clara Broekaert, research fellow at The Soufan Center.

Walkie-talkie detonations on Wednesday killed at least 20 people and wounded 450 in a fresh attack targeting Hezbollah, a day after pager blasts killed at least 12 people, including children, and injured thousands across the country.

Some of the devices blew up in public spaces like grocery stores, injuring civilians, Broekaert told CNN’s Lynda Kinkade.

Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has previously stated it does not want to escalate tensions to a full-fledged regional war. However, Hezbollah’s leader “will feel pressure to act, to retaliate even if it’s more symbolic” following the spate of explosions, Broekaert.

Hezbollah is expected to conduct internal checks over their operational security and to understand to what extent their networks have been compromised, she added.

Nabih Bulos speaks to CNN from Beirut, Lebanon on September 19. 

People in Lebanon are terrified of everyday communication devices following two days of deadly pager and walkie-talkie blasts, said Nabih Bulos, Middle East bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times.

Speaking from Beirut, Bulos said there is fear that there may be another attack in Lebanon on Thursday.

Hezbollah has long touted secrecy as a cornerstone of its military strategy, forgoing high-tech devices to avoid infiltration from Israeli and US spyware.

At the start of the year, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called on members and their families in southern Lebanon, where fighting with Israeli forces across the border has raged, to dump their cellphones, believing Israel could track the movement of the Iran-backed terror network through those devices.

But the deliberate evasion of surveillance has proven to be ineffective and exposes “part of a larger continuum of intelligence failures over the last few months,” Bulos said.

People react around a car after a reported explosion occurred during the funeral of those killed when hundreds of paging devices exploded across Lebanon the previous day, in Beirut's southern suburbs on September 18.

Israel says its war focus is “moving north,” tacitly acknowledging its role in shock twin attacks on Hezbollah in which pagers and walkie-talkies used exploded across Lebanon on consecutive days.

Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told CNN he fears that the attacks signal a move to an “introduction to war.”

“It’s a scary moment and we are afraid (of) coming to war, because we don’t want a war,” said the foreign minister, who blamed Israel for the attacks.

Here’s what else we know:

Iran has said it will respond after its ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was wounded in the exploding pager attack targeting Hezbollah, which killed at least 12 people,including children, and injured thousands across the country.

“Iran will duly follow up on the attack against its ambassador in Lebanon, which resulted in his injury, and reserves its right under international law to take required measures deemed necessary to respond to such a heinous crime and violation,” Iran’s mission to the UN said in a letter on Wednesday.

Iran backs Hezbollah, which is one of the most powerful militia groups in the Middle East and has been involved in daily exchanges of fire with Israel since the October 7 Hamas attacks. 

CNN has learned that Israel, which refused to comment directly on this week’s series of explosions in Lebanon, was behind the attacks.

“The UN Secretary-General and the Security Council must condemn unequivocally Israel’s terrorist action and heinous crime against the head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Lebanon, as well as violations of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and attacks and targeting of Lebanese civilians,” the letter said.

The ambassador’s wife said on social media that his treatment “is going well,” according to state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.

The sales office for Japanese walkie-talkie maker Icom in the city of Osaka on September 19.

Japanese firm ICOM said that the model of its walkie-talkie linked to explosions in Lebanon was discontinued a decade ago, and it could not determine whether they were counterfeit or shipped from its company.

“The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, and since then, it has not been shipped from our company,” it said Thursday. 

The company said production of the batteries in the devices was also discontinued and that “a hologram seal to distinguish counterfeit products was not attached, so it is not possible to confirm whether the product shipped from our company.”

Lebanon’s communications ministry has said that the walkie-talkies used in the attack Wednesday, which killed at least 20 people and injured 450 others, were a discontinued model, the IC-V82, made by the Japanese firm.

The IC-V82 radios were not supplied by a recognized agent, were not licensed and were not vetted by the security services, the ministry said.

ICOM said all of its radios are manufactured in Wakayama Prefecture under a strict management system to ensure “no parts other than those specified by our company are used in a product.”

“All of our radios are manufactured at the same factory, and we do not manufacture them overseas,” it said. 

It also said products for overseas markets are sold exclusively through authorized distributors and that it conducts “strict export controls” based on government security trade regulations. 

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Israeli counterpart Wednesday for the third time in 48 hours following consecutive days of pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon attributed to Israel that killed dozens and wounded thousands.

The heightened frequency of the calls underscores the sensitivity of the moment, as US officials push for a diplomatic offramp to an increasingly volatile situation between Israel and Hezbollah. 

Austin told Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that the US was committed to “deterring regional adversaries,” as well as “efforts to deescalate tensions across the region,” according to a readout of the call.

Austin spoke to Gallant twice on Tuesday. In the first of those calls, Gallant notified Austin that Israel was going to carry out an operation in Lebanon but gave no details on what the operation would entail. 

The White House reiterated Wednesday that the US was not involved in the series of attacks in Lebanon.

The US learned about the operation’s details from reports of exploding Hezbollah pagers a short time later. 

After declining to comment on Tuesday’s pager explosions, Gallant appeared to reference the attacks during a visit Wednesday to the Ramat-David Air Force base in northern Israel.

Gallant praised the “excellent achievements” of the Israel Defense Forces, together with the country’s security agency, the Shin Bet, and its intelligence agency, Mossad.

Gallant’s comment is the first time an Israeli official has tacitly acknowledged Israel’s role in the twin attacks.

Israel has severely disrupted Hezbollah’s communications network, possibly paving the way for an imminent military offensive in Lebanon, says CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer. 

This week’s attacks rendered Hezbollah unable to coordinate operations effectively, giving Israel a significant strategic advantage in their conflict, according to the former CIA operative.

Baer noted that recent comments by Israel’s defense minister indicate a shift in focus towards Hezbollah, with Israel “pivoting north” after concentrating efforts on Gaza. He said this escalation could lead to an invasion or a widespread bombardment of Lebanon. 

Baer described Israel’s breach of Hezbollah’s supply and communication network as a “great defeat” for the group. This tactical achievement has crippled Hezbollah’s ability to mobilize forces, coordinate attacks, and manage logistics. 

“The fact that Israel got into their supply network is unprecedented,” Baer remarked, highlighting the disruption of Hezbollah’s use of walkie-talkies as particularly damaging because Hezbollah relies on them to call in fire coordinates, move ammunition, and communicate in real-time. 

This leaves Hezbollah vulnerable if Israel moves forward with its military plans. 

Baer, who has tracked Hezbollah for years, expressed astonishment at the precision and scale of the Israeli operation. 

Baer said that the operation reflects Israel’s remarkable technical capabilities and emphasized that Hezbollah has long been known for its disciplined and secure communications, making Israel’s breakthrough even more significant. 

He also suggested that the operation serves as a warning to other hostile actors in the region. Israel’s ability to penetrate Hezbollah’s communication network could signal to countries like Syria, Egypt, and Jordan that their systems may be vulnerable to similar infiltration. 

Hezbollah announced the death of 16 members on Wednesday, one of the deadliest days for the group since the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7. 

The Iran-backed militant group did not give details on the circumstances of the deaths, but said most were from towns in the south of Lebanon. 

Among those who died was a 16-year-old boy, it said. 

Hezbollah said in 16 separate short statements that all the men had been killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” a reference to those fighting to support people in Gaza, but did not elaborate.

The announcement came after walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least 20 people, according to the country’s health ministry. It also came as the Israeli military announced it had struck several Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” in southern Lebanon.

A photo taken on September 18, 2024, in Beirut's southern suburbs shows the remains of exploded pagers on display at an undisclosed location. 

A Taiwanese electronics manufacturer has said that a tiny European company made the pagers linked to the deadly attack targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon, as a fresh wave of walkie-talkie explosions rocked parts of the country a day later and raised questions over how the devices made it there.

At the non-descript offices of Gold Apollo on the outskirts of the Taiwanese capital on Wednesday, the founder of the company, Hsu Ching-kuang, denied making the pagers bearing its brand name that were used in Tuesday’s assault – later pointing, without evidence, to the Budapest-registered BAC Consulting firm.

“The design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” Gold Apollo said. Hsu said that his firm had established a relationship with the Hungarian company about three years ago.

The allegations raise further questions as to who manufactured the devices and just how they made their way into Hezbollah’s pockets.

Hungarian authorities denied Gold Apollo’s suggestion, saying that the Budapest-registered company “is a trading intermediary” with no manufacturing sites in the country.

CNN has attempted to reach BAC at the address listed for its office, located in a residential area of Budapest.

A receptionist working at the building told CNN that BAC Consulting rents a space at the address but has never physically been to the building. A woman living in an upstairs apartment said she hardly sees anyone coming to the building to work.

Plainclothes police arrived on site when CNN was there. Kovacs said that an investigation had been opened and Hungary was “cooperating with all relevant international partner agencies and organizations.”

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