Lebanon’s Hezbollah handed out new pagers to its members, which later exploded and killed 37 people and over 3,000 were injured. Devices, marked as Gold Apollo pagers, have been considered as safe but exploded just hours after being handed out in the Hezbollah strongholds of south Lebanon, suburbs of Beirut and the Bekaa valley. Explosions that followed detonations of walkie-talkies held by Hezbollah a day later left devastating decay all around the region.
These devices make no explosive sounds.
According to security sources, Hezbollah operatives started getting the new pagers last year, 2022, and the devices passed all the usual checks, as was the case when they passed through airports, where there are scanners that check if such items have explosives. One pager issued to a top Hezbollah operative exploded the following day still in its box. Still, with their best efforts at explosive detection of equipment, Hezbollah did not notice the danger hidden in these pagers and walkie-talkies.The explosives buried inside the batteries of the devices were composed of PETN, a highly volatile compound. It was assumed that at least three grams of explosives had been concealed inside every pager that made it utterly impossible to detect even on scanners. Hezbollah was so confident of the safety of the devices that it sent most of them before the explosions took place.
Israel Was Behind the Attacks
Lebanese and Hezbollah sources call Israeli involvement behind synchronized attacks, while Israel does not confirm or deny its involvement. Increasing tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, with constant and intensified airstrikes by Israel on Hezbollahcontrolled territories in Lebanon, mark the period of the attacks.Hezbollah had recently switched to pagers to avoid monitoring by Israel of their cellular phones, especially since some senior commanders were assassinated in precision airstrikes. Explosions have ravaged the reputation of the group for security and technology.
Serial Bombings Hit Communications Equipment
Tuesday, the bombs began with the pagers, killing 12 and injuring nearly 3,000. On Wednesday, a far deadlier blast came on the walkie-talkies. In this set of devices rigged with a far higher payload of explosives, 25 were killed and at least 650 injured according to Lebanon’s health ministry.The movement launched an internal inquiry to trace how the devices were breached in response to the attacks. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah described the breach as “unprecedented in the history” of the group in a televised speech on Thursday. Now, Hezbollah is now checking all their supply chains and doing a comprehensive sweep of communication equipment to prevent any further breaches.
A Blow to Hezbollah’s Image
These attacks strike Hezbollah, which is usually considered one of the most powerful militias in the Middle East and was often likened to be the vanguard of Iran’s ‘Axis of Resistance.’ Hezbollah fails to detect explosives hidden in its electronic devices despite regular checks.The Taiwan-based Gold Apollo firm, which owns the pagers, said the devices attacked are made by a European company licensed to make devices bearing its brand. Where or when the devices were tampered with is not known.
As Hezbollah tries to pick up the pieces, the organization will likely scrutinize all foreign-purchased hardware more keenly, some of which may have been vulnerable for decades. Whether this will raise tensions with Israel is yet to be determined, but for now, Hezbollah will head back to business as usual with an unprecedented blow delivered to its telecommunications infrastructure.
