Twelve people have been killed in a Lebanese city, a day after an explosion killed 20 people and injured at least 450.

A series of devastating explosions aimed at Hezbollah has rocked multiple cities in Lebanon, this time involving booby-trapped walkie-talkies. The blasts have claimed the lives of at least 20 people and left over 450 injured. International observers are raising alarms, warning that the synchronized detonation of these devices could be classified as a war crime.

This follows a similar attack the previous day, where exploding pagers killed 12 and injured more than 2,800. The attacks, attributed to Israel, have prompted concerns from world leaders, who fear that tensions between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into full-scale conflict, despite ongoing diplomatic efforts by the US and the UN to defuse the situation.

A Hezbollah insider confirmed that Wednesday's attack specifically targeted the group’s walkie-talkies. A senior security official noted that the explosions, like those on Tuesday, were relatively small in scale.

UN Secretary General António Guterres denounced the attacks and urged both Hezbollah and Israel to exercise restraint. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has scheduled a meeting for Friday to address the unprecedented nature of these operations, which seem to reflect a significant breach of Hezbollah's supply chain by Israeli intelligence.

Guterres speculated that the coordinated strikes could be a prelude to a larger Israeli offensive in Lebanon. “The logic behind triggering all these devices seems to be a pre-emptive strike, likely paving the way for a broader military action,” he told reporters.

In a potentially related development, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a shift in Israel’s military priorities toward its northern border with Hezbollah during a visit to an air force base on Wednesday. 

“Our focus is increasingly turning northward, which means we’re reallocating forces, resources, and attention to the north,” Gallant said, emphasizing Israel’s aim of restoring displaced residents in the region to their homes.

While praising the Mossad for its “remarkable successes,” Gallant stopped short of directly attributing the two-day series of attacks to Israeli operations. Similarly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated, “We will ensure that northern residents return home safely, and that’s exactly what we intend to do,” in a video address.

Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group that holds significant power in Lebanon, have been exchanging fire along their shared border, raising fears of a broader regional conflict.

Israeli media outlets have speculated that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his military advisers opted to trigger the explosives this week, driven by concerns that Hezbollah was on the verge of uncovering their long-running operation. The effort to rig Hezbollah's communication devices with explosives is believed to have been in motion for at least five months.

The attacks occurred just one day after Amos Hochstein, an adviser to the Biden administration, met with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant in an attempt to ease tensions with Hezbollah. Following the meeting, Netanyahu declared that one of Israel’s primary objectives was to ensure the return of tens of thousands of displaced residents to northern Israel, hinting that further escalation might be on the horizon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, currently in Egypt to discuss a US-led ceasefire proposal for Gaza, implied that Israel may have intentionally timed the strikes to disrupt progress in those talks. Blinken noted that each time mediators believed they were nearing a breakthrough in the Gaza ceasefire, a new event would surface that threatened to halt or derail those efforts, alluding to Tuesday’s explosions in Lebanon. Notably, Blinken's Middle East trip does not include a stop in Israel.

At the same time, diplomats and human rights groups have condemned the strikes, which targeted thousands of Hezbollah-ordered pagers and walkie-talkies, criticizing them as indiscriminate and in violation of international human rights law.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that "the coordinated targeting of thousands of individuals—whether civilians or members of armed groups—without knowing who had possession of the devices, their locations, or their surroundings at the time of the attacks, constitutes a violation of international human rights law and, where relevant, international humanitarian law."

Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, emphasized that "customary international humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby traps—objects that civilians are likely to encounter or use in daily life—precisely to prevent endangering civilians and causing the kind of devastation we’re now seeing across Lebanon." She added, "Using explosive devices without knowing their exact locations is unlawfully indiscriminate. Such attacks cannot be directed solely at military targets and inevitably harm both military personnel and civilians without distinction."

Fakih also called for "an urgent and impartial investigation" into the attacks.

The latest strikes unleashed a second wave of chaos in Lebanon, especially in Hezbollah-controlled areas of Beirut. One explosion, involving a walkie-talkie, occurred during a funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child, all of whom had died in a previous attack involving an exploding pager.

According to Lebanon’s health ministry, the new explosions have claimed 20 lives and injured over 450. The ministry also reported that emergency responders were nearing completion in transferring the wounded to hospitals.

The company later stated it could not confirm whether it had shipped the walkie-talkies reportedly involved in the attacks, noting that the batteries needed to operate the devices, which had been discontinued around 10 years ago, were also no longer available. It emphasized that all its products go through stringent regulatory checks mandated by the Japanese government.

Headquartered in Osaka, the wireless communications company has offices in several countries, including the US, Germany, and China. The firm previously announced that production of the IC-V82 model, which was identified in images obtained by Reuters, had been phased out in 2014.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi, told reporters that the government was aware of reports involving the walkie-talkies and was actively gathering more information.

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government have accused Israel of carrying out Tuesday’s attack, with Hezbollah vowing a “fair punishment” in response to the explosions.

Photos captured charred and shattered communication devices amid widespread destruction. Multiple images reviewed by *The Guardian* revealed an Icom IC-V82 two-way radio that appeared to have exploded.

In a video, a Hezbollah member attending a funeral in the southern suburb of Beirut is seen when a sudden explosion occurs on his body, sending him sprawling to the ground while the crowd scatters in panic.

As paramedics worked to evacuate the wounded from the affected areas, a group of men attacked a UN peacekeeping convoy passing through Tyre, in southern Lebanon. A video shows individuals hurling stones at two armored personnel carriers belonging to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) along one of the city's main roads.

“The situation is now under control,” Unifil spokesperson Andrea Teneti told *The Guardian*, noting that while there were no injuries, the incident represented a significant breach of Unifil's freedom of movement. He added that the Lebanese armed forces had intervened to resolve the situation.

Israel has not officially taken responsibility for the attacks, though reports suggest it successfully planted explosives in thousands of pagers purchased by Hezbollah.

In response to escalating tensions, the Israeli Ministry of Defense has relocated the 98th Division, previously engaged in fighting in the Gaza Strip, to Israel’s northern region. This move follows a cabinet decision to concentrate much of the military’s resources in the north. The 98th Division will now join the 36th Division, which has been stationed in northern Israel for several months.

Additionally, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have initiated a limited reserve call-up in the north, focusing on air defense, Home Front Command, and Medical Corps personnel.

On Wednesday, Major General Uri Gordin, commander of the IDF’s Northern Command, observed a training exercise conducted by reservists from the IDF’s 179th Brigade. The drill focused on simulating combat scenarios in Lebanon, including operations involving maneuvers within hostile territory.

Major General Uri Gordin stated, "The mission is straightforward: we are resolutely focused on altering the security situation as swiftly as possible. The dedication of both commanders and troops is absolute, with full preparedness for any necessary operations," according to an IDF statement.

On Wednesday morning, Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog convened for a security briefing, as announced by Herzog’s office. Details from the meeting were not disclosed.

In other developments, the IDF reported that dozens of rockets were launched from Lebanon into the western Galilee in the afternoon, landing in open areas and causing no injuries.

Additionally, the IDF intercepted a drone, reportedly launched from Iraq, early Wednesday morning with an Israeli fighter jet.