The Mechanics of Hezbollah’s Pager Explosions: What We Know So Far
The Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon have rattled the region, with simultaneous blasts killing at least 26 people and wounding thousands more. While details continue to emerge, the method behind these blasts highlights the growing sophistication of espionage and sabotage tactics.
The Explosions: How Were They Carried Out?
The explosions in question occurred when small amounts of explosives were activated inside thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies. Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Gold Apollo, a Taiwan-based company, which appeared to have been compromised at some point in the supply chain. A senior Lebanese security source revealed that Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, was responsible for planting these explosives.
According to the source, Mossad embedded explosive components into the pagers, making it nearly impossible to detect the modifications. The explosives were hidden near the batteries of the pagers, which had been in Hezbollah’s possession for months without arousing suspicion. The explosives were activated by a coded message that was sent to the devices at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. This message, disguised as an ordinary communication from Hezbollah’s leadership, triggered the detonation, causing mass casualties.
Walkie-Talkies: An Expanded Attack?
A day after the pager explosions, similar blasts were reported involving walkie-talkies. While fewer details have emerged regarding the walkie-talkie attacks, it appears that Hezbollah had also acquired the walkie-talkies around the same time as the pagers. These devices, like the pagers, had been infiltrated and modified by Israel’s intelligence services, although the specifics of how these modifications were made remain unclear.
Images of the walkie-talkies show them labeled “ICOM,” a brand manufactured in Japan. ICOM has acknowledged the reports and is currently investigating whether its products were indeed involved in the attack. Like the pagers, the walkie-talkies appear to have been tampered with before reaching Lebanon, potentially indicating a long-term operation to compromise Hezbollah’s communications infrastructure.
Why Pagers and Walkie-Talkies?
Hezbollah’s reliance on older, less advanced communication devices like pagers and walkie-talkies is part of its strategy to evade Israeli surveillance. Mobile phones, while convenient, are much easier to track due to the signals they emit. Mobile phones regularly “ping” masts, allowing intelligence agencies to triangulate a user’s location with relative ease. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has previously warned supporters about the dangers of carrying mobile phones, advising them to destroy or hide their devices.
Pagers, on the other hand, do not send out signals and can only receive them. This makes them harder to monitor and track, providing Hezbollah with a layer of protection from Israeli surveillance. Similarly, walkie-talkies operate on radio frequencies, which are more difficult to trace than mobile phone signals. Despite these advantages, Hezbollah clearly did not anticipate the possibility that these very devices could be turned into weapons.
The Fallout: A Major Intelligence Failure
The attack represents a significant blow to Hezbollah, not only because of the immediate loss of life but also due to the psychological impact of such a security breach. The ability to infiltrate Hezbollah’s supply chain and plant explosives in their communication devices signals a deep intelligence penetration. Jonathan Panikoff, a former U.S. intelligence officer, described the incident as Hezbollah’s most significant counterintelligence failure in decades.
While Hezbollah has vowed retaliation against Israel, the group will likely need to rethink its communication strategies. The reliance on older, seemingly secure devices like pagers and walkie-talkies has been shattered. Going forward, Hezbollah may turn to even lower-tech means of communication, or perhaps develop new strategies to safeguard against such attacks.
This devastating breach is a stark reminder of the rapidly evolving nature of intelligence and espionage in modern conflicts. Both Hezbollah and Israel will likely learn from this event as their decades-long struggle continues to unfold.