What we’re covering

• Second day of deadly explosions: At least 20 people were killed and more than 450 were injured after walkie-talkies detonated in Lebanon, according to officials, a day after a wave of pager explosions killed at least 12 people and injured more than 2,800. Hezbollah said 16 members were killed Wednesday, but it didn’t elaborate on the circumstances.
• What Israel is saying: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “the center of gravity is moving north,” referencing the border with Lebanon. Israel’s military is also moving the elite 98th Division from Gaza to northern Israel, a source told CNN.
• Attack timing: Israel launched the Tuesday pager attack after it believed the capability had been discovered by Hezbollah, according to an Israeli source familiar with national security.

Hezbollah says 16 members were killed Wednesday, but it doesn’t elaborate on the circumstances

Hezbollah announced the death of 16 members on Wednesday, one of the deadliest days for the group since the Israel-Hamas war started on October 7. 

The Iran-backed militant group did not give details on the circumstances of the deaths, but said most were from towns in the south of Lebanon. 

Among those who died was a 16-year-old boy, it said. 

Hezbollah said in 16 separate short statements that all the men had been killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” a reference to those fighting to support people in Gaza, but did not elaborate.

The announcement came after walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon on Wednesday killed at least 20 people, according to the country’s health ministry. It also came as the Israeli military announced it had struck several Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” in southern Lebanon.

Iran airlifts 95 injured people from Lebanon for urgent medical treatment 

Ninety-five people injured in this week’s device explosions in Lebanon are being transferred to Iran for further treatment, Iran’s state news agency IRNA said Wednesday, citing Pirhossein Koulivand, head of the Iranian Red Crescent Society. 

“Most of the injured have sustained severe injuries to their hands and eyes. Upon arrival in Iran, they will be immediately sent to designated hospitals for treatment,” Koulivand said. 

The Iranian Red Crescent Society said it dispatched a team on Wednesday following Tuesday’s deadly pager explosions in Lebanon. Later on Wednesday, walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon killed at least 20 people.

Videos posted on Iranian semi-official outlets show individuals being transferred by stretchers and taken onboard a plane, their heads and eyes wrapped in bandages. 

Iran accused Israel of carrying out a “terrorist act” and “genocide” after pagers — some owned by Hezbollah members — blew up nearly simultaneously on Tuesday in an unprecedented attack. CNN has learned that Israel was behind Tuesday’s attacks, though Israeli officials have not commented on either day’s attacks publicly.

Israeli military says it struck several Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” in southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday it struck several Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli military “struck a Hezbollah launcher” as well as “infrastructure sites in the areas of Halta, Kfarkela, Odaisseh, and Chama in southern Lebanon,” the IDF said in a statement.

The strikes came after “approximately 20 projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon” into the country’s northern-most territory, known as the Upper Galilee, the IDF added.

The IDF said it had intercepted “some of the projectiles,” and no injuries were reported.

Hezbollah claimed to have attacked several Israeli military sites in northern Israel with rockets throughout Wednesday. The Iran-backed militant group described those attacks as being in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

The group also announced the deaths of at least 11 members on Wednesday but did not give details on the circumstances.

Clashes at Lebanon-Israel border

Fighting continues on Lebanon’s southern border with Israel where Hezbollah — a Lebanese armed group backed by Iran — has its main area of operations. Israel has ordered the evacuation of communities along the Lebanese border. Since the start of the Hamas-Israel war on October 7, Israel’s flare-up with Hezbollah has intensified in this border region.

Sources: Israel Defense Forces; The Institute for the Study of War with AEI’s Critical Threats Project; National News Agency

Graphic: Lou Robinson, Rachel Wilson and Henrik Pettersson, CNN