The batteries of the walkie-talkies used by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah that blew up this week were laced with a highly explosive compound known as PETN, a Lebanese source familiar with the device's components told Reuters.

The latest announcement comes after months of instability for Beirut's airport as fears grow of a major escalation between Hezbollah and Israel.

A Japanese handheld radio manufacturer has distanced itself from walkie-talkies bearing its logo that exploded in Lebanon, saying it discontinued production of the devices a decade ago. At least 20 people were killed and 450 injured after hundreds of walkie-talkies,

Hezbollah officials and Lebanon's state media say explosions went off in Beirut and multiple parts of Lebanon. Officials said that walkie-talkies and even solar equipment detonated a day after hundreds of pagers blew up.

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 450 others wounded by a second wave of explosions from wireless communication devices in Lebanon, the country’s health ministry says. Reports say a large number of walkie-talkies used by the armed group Hezbollah blew up in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut,