One Hezbollah official said the episode was the biggest security breach in the group's history. The operations, which appeared to throw Hezbollah into disarray, played out alongside Israel's 11-month-old war in Gaza and heightened fears of an escalation on its Lebanese border and the risk of a full-blown regional war.

Hezbollah says it is acting in support of Hamas - which is also backed by Iran and proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel and many Western countries - and will only stop its attacks once the fighting in Gaza ends.

Lebanon's health minister says death toll in exploding pagers attack on Hezbollah has risen to 12.

Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them. Hundreds of handheld pagers exploded almost simultaneously Tuesday across Lebanon and in parts of Syria,

Another wave of deadly explosions in Lebanon killed at least 20 people and injured hundreds more, including children, Lebanese officials say. This time, handheld radios blew up, including at a funeral outside Beirut for those killed in the first attack.