Pagers turned out to be a death trap disguised as secure means of communication.
On Tuesday, after 3:30 p.m., a series of explosions began in Lebanon, which swept through various parts of the country, causing panic, chaos and numerous casualties. The explosions were triggered by communication devices, including pagers, which began to emit a signal as if they had received a message from the Hezbollah leadership. Seconds later, however, the audible signals were followed by powerful explosions, shaking streets, shops and homes, killing and injuring hundreds of people.
Witnesses described how the explosions threw people away from motorcycles and threw them against walls. Passers-by who were on the street fell to the ground, smoke was coming from their pockets. One of the eyewitnesses, Mohammed Awada, told how he and his son drove past a man whose pager exploded. "My son started screaming when he saw that man's arm torn off," he recalls. By the end of the day, at least a dozen people had died, and the number of wounded exceeded 2,700. The victims included both Hezbollah fighters and civilians, including four children.
The next day, the tragedy continued when walkie-talkies began to explode, leading to even more casualties - 20 people were killed and hundreds were injured. At the funeral of the dead in the suburbs of Beirut, another explosion occurred, causing panic among those present. People fled to shelters, fearing that mobile phones or other communication devices could be the next sources of explosions. Shouts were heard in the crowd: "Turn off the phones! Take out the batteries!"
Although officials in Israel did not comment on the incident, defense and intelligence sources familiar with the details of the operation claim that Israeli intelligence services were behind the bombings. It was a complex, carefully planned operation against Hezbollah that began several years ago. The Israeli intelligence services organized a front company that allegedly produced ordinary pagers. In fact, the devices were equipped with a PETN explosive hidden in the batteries. These pagers began arriving in Lebanon in 2022, and as tensions with Israel grew, their number increased.
In recent years, Hezbollah has tried to minimize the use of mobile phones for fear of hacking. The group's leadership, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, has called for the abandonment of mobile devices and the use of pagers, considering them a more secure means of communication. However, this decision was a fatal mistake, which was taken advantage of by the Israeli special services.
During his speech in February this year, Hassan Nasrallah publicly stated: "A mobile phone is a spy that you are holding in your hands." He urged his fighters to store phones in iron boxes to avoid tracking. Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence has already begun a plan to introduce fake pagers to be used when it becomes necessary.
On Tuesday, that moment came. According to intelligence sources, Israel sent a message to pagers in Arabic, allegedly coming from the leadership of Hezbollah. As soon as the devices received the signal, the explosions began. As a result, many civilians, including children, were killed. One of the tragedies occurred in the village of Saara'in, where nine-year-old Fatima Abdullah died when her father's pager exploded in her hands.
This attack is another episode in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated after the outbreak of hostilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel has repeatedly used high-tech methods to eliminate Iranian and Lebanese military leaders, leading to retaliation from Hezbollah seeking to minimize Israel's technical advantage. However, an attempt to switch to more "low-tech" means of communication turned out to be a disaster for the organization.
In light of recent events, many experts have expressed concern that Lebanon is plunging into a new round of violence and instability. The explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies have forced people to reconsider their views on the use of communications, because now even the most ordinary devices can become weapons in the hands of the enemy.
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On Tuesday, after 3:30 p.m., a series of explosions began in Lebanon, which swept through various parts of the country, causing panic, chaos and numerous casualties. The explosions were triggered by communication devices, including pagers, which began to emit a signal as if they had received a message from the Hezbollah leadership. Seconds later, however, the audible signals were followed by powerful explosions, shaking streets, shops and homes, killing and injuring hundreds of people.
Witnesses described how the explosions threw people away from motorcycles and threw them against walls. Passers-by who were on the street fell to the ground, smoke was coming from their pockets. One of the eyewitnesses, Mohammed Awada, told how he and his son drove past a man whose pager exploded. "My son started screaming when he saw that man's arm torn off," he recalls. By the end of the day, at least a dozen people had died, and the number of wounded exceeded 2,700. The victims included both Hezbollah fighters and civilians, including four children.
The next day, the tragedy continued when walkie-talkies began to explode, leading to even more casualties - 20 people were killed and hundreds were injured. At the funeral of the dead in the suburbs of Beirut, another explosion occurred, causing panic among those present. People fled to shelters, fearing that mobile phones or other communication devices could be the next sources of explosions. Shouts were heard in the crowd: "Turn off the phones! Take out the batteries!"
Although officials in Israel did not comment on the incident, defense and intelligence sources familiar with the details of the operation claim that Israeli intelligence services were behind the bombings. It was a complex, carefully planned operation against Hezbollah that began several years ago. The Israeli intelligence services organized a front company that allegedly produced ordinary pagers. In fact, the devices were equipped with a PETN explosive hidden in the batteries. These pagers began arriving in Lebanon in 2022, and as tensions with Israel grew, their number increased.
In recent years, Hezbollah has tried to minimize the use of mobile phones for fear of hacking. The group's leadership, including its leader Hassan Nasrallah, has called for the abandonment of mobile devices and the use of pagers, considering them a more secure means of communication. However, this decision was a fatal mistake, which was taken advantage of by the Israeli special services.
During his speech in February this year, Hassan Nasrallah publicly stated: "A mobile phone is a spy that you are holding in your hands." He urged his fighters to store phones in iron boxes to avoid tracking. Meanwhile, Israeli intelligence has already begun a plan to introduce fake pagers to be used when it becomes necessary.
On Tuesday, that moment came. According to intelligence sources, Israel sent a message to pagers in Arabic, allegedly coming from the leadership of Hezbollah. As soon as the devices received the signal, the explosions began. As a result, many civilians, including children, were killed. One of the tragedies occurred in the village of Saara'in, where nine-year-old Fatima Abdullah died when her father's pager exploded in her hands.
This attack is another episode in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated after the outbreak of hostilities in the Gaza Strip. Israel has repeatedly used high-tech methods to eliminate Iranian and Lebanese military leaders, leading to retaliation from Hezbollah seeking to minimize Israel's technical advantage. However, an attempt to switch to more "low-tech" means of communication turned out to be a disaster for the organization.
In light of recent events, many experts have expressed concern that Lebanon is plunging into a new round of violence and instability. The explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies have forced people to reconsider their views on the use of communications, because now even the most ordinary devices can become weapons in the hands of the enemy.
Source
