Thursday 19 / September / 2024
Japanese firm Icom has issued a statement about the devices used in an attack on Hezbollah fighters. Walkie-talkies used by the militant group exploded Wednesday, a day after a similar made pagers explode. At least 20 people were killed and 450 were injured in the second attack.
"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," Icom said.
"The production of the batteries needed to operate the main unit has also been discontinued, and a hologram seal to distinguish counterfeit products was not attached, so it is not possible to confirm whether the product shipped from our company," it said.
Icom added that all of its radios are made in Japan, and its export program is based on strict Japanese security and trade control regulations, adding to the questions of how the devices could have been tampered with.
Attacks are a 'staggering blow' to Hezbollah, retired IDF general says
Assaf Orion, a retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) brigadier general and a current international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agreed with US assessments that Israel probably carried out the walkie-talkie and pager attacks in Lebanon.
"Who profits? That's a good question to begin with. I think all of Hezbollah's enemies are benefitting," he told DW. "When you think of the capabilities needed to carry out such an attack, it's probably Israel."
Asked about the damage the incidents have caused Hezbollah, he said, "Physically, there's a major disruption at the command and operational levels."
He said the attacks represented a "staggering blow" to the organization and would create a "lack of trust in its own security."
Orion added that "the only option" for stopping hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be "a cease-fire in Gaza, which does not seem to be within reach."
