The Israeli government did not tamper with the Hezbollah phones that exploded, defense and intelligence officials say. It manufactured them as part of an elaborate ruse.
At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 others wounded, Lebanese officials said, a day after pagers exploded across the country and killed 12 people, in an attack widely attributed to Israel.
Ambulances arriving after a device reportedly exploded during the funeral in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday for people killed when hundreds of pagers exploded across Lebanon a day earlier.
Two series of coordinated attacks targeting the group’s wireless devices caused thousands of injuries, piercing the group’s rank and file and raising questions about how it will respond.
By targeting so many pagers at the same time, Israel demonstrated technical prowess and partly restored the aura of its intelligence agencies. But its long-term intent is unclear.
The Iranian-backed militant group, which uses pagers to safeguard communications, blamed Israel for the attacks in Lebanon. Israel declined to comment.
Small amounts of explosive were implanted in beepers that Hezbollah had ordered from a Taiwanese company, according to American and other officials briefed on the operation.
Dismissing the minister, Yoav Gallant, would remove a frequent critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a time of mounting tensions with Hezbollah.
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