Amidst the mysterious explosion of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon, two incidents of solar panel blasts were also reported in the Hezbollah stronghold on Wednesday. While no deaths were reported, Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) confirmed that a girl was injured in the development.
Pictures of exploded solar panels, fingerprint readers and other devices circulated through social media in Lebanon, news reports said.
Devices used for communication by Hezbollah members were targeted across Lebanon claiming several lives and injuring thousands of people. Israel and Mossad are accused of executing highly sophisticated low-scale explosions targeting walkie-talkies and pagers in particular.
Thousands of Hezbollah cadres including fighters and leaders were targeted in a massive and meticulously planned attack involving pagers that exploded, killing at least nine, injuring over 2,750 people and critically injuring more than 200. The extensive explosions signal a new form of offensive action in the annals of modern warfare. Reports said the devices heated up before exploding. The Ministry of Public Health requested that “all citizens who own wireless communication devices stay away from them.”
On Wednesday, fresh blasts rocked Beirut, killing at least nine and injuring over 200 as hand-held radios exploded in similar fashion. The walkie-talkies that went off on Wednesday were Hezbollah around the same time as the pagers, reports said.
The solar panel explosions were not linked to the suspected Mossad-orchestrated blasts in Beirut. There were no confirmation whether they caught fire from one of the devices and exploded or went off on their own. "A girl from the town of Al-Marwaniyah was injured as a result of the explosion of the solar energy system in her family's home, the NNA report from Lebabon's Zahrani read.
Meanwhile, Israel defence minister Yoav Gallant declared the start of a “new phase” of the war. The"centre of gravity is shifting to the north through the diversion of resources and forces," the Netanyahu cabinet member added.
“We are at the start of a new phase in the war – it requires courage, determination and perseverance,” AlJazeera quoted Yoav Gallant as saying on Wednesday. “The centre of gravity is shifting to the north by diverting resources and forces,” he reportedly stated. However, there were no direct mentions of the explosions that rocked Lebanon.