Map shows where pagers and walkie talkies exploded in Lebanon

What does the simultaneous explosion of thousands of booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies in two countries look like?

It starts with some 5,000 pagers shipped to the militant group Hezbollah by its enemy Israel, whose agents are believed to have planted explosives and metal balls into each.

Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had spent years calling on the Iran-backed Lebanese group to ditch their use of mobile phones, worried they had been used to pinpoint the locations of top commandos assassinated by Israel.

‘Bury it. Put it in an iron box and lock it’, he urged followers in February.

The pagers, understood to have been ordered five months ago, were supposed to be a more secure, less high tech way to send messages without revealing its user’s whereabouts.

But when they beeped to announce the arrival of a message around 3.30pm on Tuesday afternoon, they exploded, many of them at till points and market stalls.

Two children and four healthcare workers were among the at least 12 people killed in the blasts, which left 2,800 people injured.

Many of them lost hands, fingers, or needed amputation.

Just 24 hours later, walkie-talkies believed to be in possession of Hezbollah operatives, exploded, one of them at a funeral for some of the previous day’s victims.

Those blasts killed at least 25 people and wounded more than 600 more.

Explosions were heard in at least eight cities and towns in Lebanon, as well as Damascus, the capital of Syria, an ally of both Hezbollah and Iran.

Today Nasrallah warned Israel that ‘the resistance in Lebanon will not stop’, in reference to a rocket campaign it launched in support of Hamas in Gaza, in a speech broadcast a TVs and radios across Lebanon today.

But his words were followed by powerful blasts from sonic booms created by Israeli jets flying overhead.

Fears of escalation are felt most acutely on the streets of Lebanon, where the army carried out controlled explosions on suspicious devices, and locals have told journalists to take camera away, wary of further blasts.

With Israel moving troops to its northern border with Lebanon, and Hezbollah threatening ‘just punishment’, the conflict in Gaza may well be closer to an all-out regional conflict.

There were hopes that had been avoided when Iran and Israel flashed their firepower by lobbing drones and missiles at each other after Israel bombing the Iranian embassy in Syria.

Senior Iranian officials and a Hezbollah fighter were among the 12 killed in the embassy attack.

Now the risk of escalation has returned as Israel and Hezbollah threaten further military action.

‘We are at the start of a new phase in the war’, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Wednesday.

‘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.’

Nasrallah said: ‘No military escalation, no killings, no assassinations and no all-out war can return residents to the border.’

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for restraint as he urged British citizens to leave Lebanon while there are still routes out.

He said: ‘My message to British nationals in Lebanon is leave while commercial options remain.

‘Tensions are high and the situation could deteriorate rapidly.’

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