LEILA FADEL, HOST:
For the second time in as many days, communication devices in Lebanon exploded in people's hands.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Or in their pockets. First, it was hundreds of pagers used by the Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah, and then their walkie-talkies blew up - in some cases, at the funerals for people killed the day before. The Lebanese health ministry says the latest round of attacks killed at least 20 people and wounded hundreds. Israel has privately acknowledged responsibility, according to NPR's reporting. And in a moment, we will hear some of Israel's long history of technically daring attacks. We begin with a view from the streets in Lebanon.
FADEL: With me down the line in Beirut is NPR's Jane Arraf. Hi, Jane.
JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, Leila.
FADEL: So what are you seeing and hearing in the city?
ARRAF: Well, I went to Beirut's southern suburbs yesterday with producer Jawad Rizkallah to a Hezbollah funeral for four of those victims of Tuesday's blasts.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Singing in non-English language).
ARRAF: They included two fighters being buried, plus an 11-year-old boy and a hospital orderly. They were all killed when pagers carried by Hezbollah members, including office and hospital staff, began exploding in cars, streets, supermarkets. A speaker called out the names of the dead. You can hear the band starting to play, and then a bang.
(SOUNDBITE OF EXPLOSION)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: Everything stopped, and then the ceremony continued. Our producer, Jawad, dashed out and saw ambulances and heard someone shouting that a man had his hand blown off.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).
ARRAF: And then the funeral carried on - to the sound of prayers and, still, those ambulances in the background.
FADEL: So you were right there for that one blast, but that was not the only blast, right?
ARRAF: It wasn't. As the bodies were being carried to the cemetery to be buried - the victims of the previous day's blasts - more ambulances came racing through the streets.
(SOUNDBITE OF AMBULANCE SIREN WAILING)
ARRAF: Not just ambulances, but speeding motorcycles. One was a firefighter with an oxygen bottle strapped on his back. It was almost dusk at that point, Leila, and it was very tense. Hezbollah security people appeared from almost nowhere, and all of this as a sanitation worker swept up rose petals from the street. You know, the deaths of martyrs are considered a celebration - almost like a wedding - and people on balconies were showering the mourners with petals.
FADEL: So Jane, attacks before this week between Israel and Hezbollah had really been missiles, airstrikes, drone attacks constantly. This new string of explosions, though, is really different. I mean, I'm hearing from people that they're just afraid of electronics - unplugging everything, afraid to be out in case someone's device explodes next to them. What are you hearing?
ARRAF: Absolutely - really widespread fear because it's so unpredictable. Hezbollah has vowed revenge. And Hassan Nasrallah, the leader, is giving an address this evening. Lebanese security forces have been detonating walkie-talkies and other devices in controlled explosions. People are deeply unsettled because they don't know when something next to them could explode. We talked to a 16-year-old mourner. He said this was different. This was terrorism - killing and maiming random people as well as fighters. And he added this.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: In Islamic faith, we always believe that death is not a wall, but a door. We see death as glory because death shows that we are willing to put our blood in defense of our country, in defense of our religion.
ARRAF: Even far from Hezbollah neighborhoods, people are in shock. Jawad spoke to a young woman in a pub who had just spoken to her 12-year-old sister.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #5: She's like, yes, I could see the man burning on his balcony across their apartment. She's just in shock. This makes me feel weak and sad and hurt and very angry.
ARRAF: The woman said she was trying to pretend things were normal. But obviously, nothing is normal now.
FADEL: That's NPR's Jane Arraf, reporting for us from Beirut. Thank you, Jane.
ARRAF: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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