Radios manufactured by Japanese firm ICOM reportedly were among the devices exploding in Lebanon on Wednesday, according to reports first shared with The Jerusalem Post by Bernie News and then confirmed by New York Times journalist Christiaan Triebert over social media.
These radios follow the wave of pagers that exploded in Lebanon and parts of Syria on Tuesday, wounding over a thousand people, especially members of Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
While these attacks were attributed to Israel by Lebanese figures and foreign reports, the Jewish state has not confirmed its involvement.
At the time of writing, hundreds of people were already reportedly wounded due to these latest explosions.
But what are the radios that are allegedly exploding in Lebanon? Here’s what you need to know.
What are the radios allegedly exploding in Lebanon?
The radios being blown up are reportedly IC-V82 radios manufactured by ICOM.
This is a VHF transceiver and is typically used for ham radio communication – meaning it is typically used by amateurs who use it for fun or personal interest, rather than for commercial or emergency broadcasting.
However, the IC-V82 is a discontinued model, with ICOM having issued a warning on how to spot counterfeits.
In the warning leaflet, the company warned hat these products have neen discontinued for a long time and said that these conterfeit models have a risk of the battery exploding.
Are the batteries exploding?
The batteries were also credited as being what exploded in the pagers throughout Lebanon on Tuesday.
On social media, Triebert reported that several other devices exploded throughout Lebanon, including solar energy devices. It is currently unclear if this is related to the batteries as well.
The Jerusalem Post reached out to ICOM for comment.
