Israel’s strategic interest in Lebanon is the ability to return more than 100,000 of its citizens to their homes in northern Israel. Those civilians have been dislocated since last October, when the Lebanese Hezbollah joined Hamas's war by firing rockets into Israeli settlements.

Japanese wireless communication equipment-maker Icom said Thursday it cannot confirm whether a walkie-talkie used in the explosive attacks against Hezbollah was related to the company, noting the production and sales of that device and its battery were discontinued about a decade ago.

Japan company denies making Hezbollah’s walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon - Hezbollah’s hand-held radios detonated in second attack killing 20 after 12 died in pager explosions day before