NEW YORK, September 19. /TASS/. Hezbollah’s communications network has been disrupted in the wake of recent pager explosions which could lead to an Israeli military offensive in Lebanon, CNN intelligence and security analyst Robert Baer argued.

According to Baer, a former CIA case officer, the pager attack rendered the Lebanese Shia group unable to coordinate operations effectively, giving Israel a significant strategic advantage. This, Baer maintains, may lead to an invasion or a widespread bombardment of Lebanon by the Jewish state.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported earlier that the United States fears that Israel may launch a ground offensive in Lebanon against the country’s Shia Hezbollah movement amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Multiple explosions of communications devices rocked Lebanon on September 17 and 18. On the first day, a large number of pagers exploded simultaneously across the Middle Eastern country. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, 12 people, including two children, were killed in the attacks, and 2,800 others have been hospitalized.

On Thursday, walkie-talkies, smartphones and electronic devices working off solar and lithium-ion batteries exploded across Lebanon. At least 20 were killed and 460 injured in the latest attack.