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.

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.

At least 12 people and thousands of others were injured when explosive pagers detonated across Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday.