The AR-924 pager, advertised as "rugged," contains a rechargeable lithium battery and could receive texts of up to 100 characters. It also claimed to have up to 85 days of battery life, crucial in Lebanon, where electricity outages are commonplace following years of economic collapse.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant did say on Wednesday, however, that his country's war with Iran's so-called proxy groups in the region had entered a "new phase," announcing a shift to the north of Israel after 11 months of intense conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Two days of attacks widely blamed on Israel targeted thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies, and have heightened fears that nearly a year of near-daily exchanges of fire

The absence of a full-blown war in Lebanon has been touted as a core U.S. achievement, but now Washington’s grip on the crisis appears more tenuous than ever.

Hezbollah admits Israel dealt a severe blow with exploding pagers and walkie talkies, but neither side seems to heed U.S. calls to avoid a wider war.