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As far as identification methods go, the way hundreds of Hezbollah members were just outed is pretty epic.
Reports are coming in from Lebanon, specifically from Beirut and southern Lebanon so far, that hundreds of pagers simultaneously exploded while in people’s pockets, bags, or hands.
The video coming in, especially the surveillance video, looks like something from a movie.
MAJOR DEVELOPING STORY: Hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists all over Lebanon were just killed / severely injured when their "pagers" all suddenly simultaneously exploded in a scene out of science fiction. pic.twitter.com/4VxzwXzonv
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 17, 2024
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1836054533392265606
While pager use is unknown to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, it is still a viable technology with plenty of uses. In this case, it would be a fast and unobtrusive way to get the attention of a Hezbollah member, and only people within the network would have one. Which makes it that much more hilarious that they all went boom at the same time, because the only way to have one of these would be because you are a member of Hezbollah. And Hezbollah is admitting that fact!
A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.
Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza conflict erupted last October, the worst such escalation in years.
The pagers that detonated were the latest model brought in by Hezbollah in recent months, three security sources said.
A Reuters journalist saw ambulances rushing through the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, amid widespread panic. A security source said that devices were also exploding in the south of Lebanon.
The best guess by most technology experts is that the lithium batteries on the pagers were sent a signal via malware to overheat and explode. Some Hezbollah members admitted that the pagers were heating up and they got rid of them before they exploded. Was this an Israeli operation? Hezbollah certainly thinks so – and they also admitted that the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon had one of these pagers!
Along with Hezbollah operatives, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also injured in the blasts, according to Tehran’s Mehr news agency.
Hezbollah officials claimed Israel was behind the pager attack. The Israeli military has not commented on the incident.
“The enemy (Israel) stands behind this security incident,” a Hezbollah official told the AP.
Hezbollah, as a proxy for Iran, has been aggressively trying to push their way into a war with Israel ever since October 7th. So far, Israel has managed to keep Hezbollah contained with targeted strikes, and the conflict at the northern Israeli border has not escalated into all-out war, despite provocation. If this was an Israeli op, why do this now?
https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1836062273527595138
The full post reads:
If Israel’s intelligence services are indeed behind the Hezbollah pager explosions all over Lebanon — and they likely are — it is an extraordinary decision.
It means they are likely burning whatever route they used to get these pagers into Hezbollah’s hands, the sources they used likely can’t be used anymore, and now Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct a top-to-bottom check of every electronic device, which means they may discover other devices or other ways Israel has penetrated their electronics.
So, clearly, Israel has deemed the immediate gain more valuable than the long-term potential use of these compromised devices.
And the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the devices were recently received by Hezbollah so perhaps Israel also felt like it had a short window to take advantage of this option.
You have to admit, this was a brillant way to cripple the actual fighting force of Hezbollah without ever firing a shot. Hezbollah is claiming nine are dead, including a child, along with hundreds injured. While that is possible, given the flying shrapnel, one has to take any casualty numbers from Hezbollah at this point with a large grain of salt. But it seems likely that Hezbollah will retaliate, just because they will need to save face in some way.
But let’s also consider something else. We are just a few weeks away from the first anniversary of October 7th. It’s going to be a horrible and sad day, and especially painful for former hostages and their loved ones, those who lost loved ones, and those who still have loved ones being held as hostages. I can’t imagine a whole year of this level of psychological torture. What if Israeli intelligence caught wind of Hezbollah planning something big for October 7th this year, and the best way to disrupt those plans was to activate the overheating malware in the new pagers and burn the entire network? If you knew something was coming, wouldn’t that be a quick way to instantly cripple both manpower and communication ability?
We may never know exactly how this got pulled off, or why Israel (presumably) decided to activate it now. But with the first anniversary of “Black Sabbath” quickly approaching, we can expect to see a new escalation of hostilities. And if this pre-emptive strike helps blunt an attack and save lives, then that is a net good.
Featured image: Hezbollah militants via Voice of America on Wikimedia Commons, cropped, public domain
Hundreds of terrorist pagers blowing up – hilarious! I wonder if their last message was “Mazel tov”?
Wondering whether other wireless devices are vulnerable to this kind of malware – terrifying!
GWB says: with plenty of uses
The biggest use is secure communications. You know your smartphone can be spied on. Heck, it’s why Hamas went all Stone Age prior to Oct 7 – prevent Israel from spying on their communications. Pagers use a radio signal (since they’re basically receive only) so aren’t able (generally) to be tracked like a cellular phone is.
So, you carry around the pager, and you get a call-back number. It’s probably a one-time use number. You go to a landline somewhere or grab a burner phone and call the number. You get your information, then you hang up and walk away. And no one who wasn’t already watching that phone number is the wiser.
Also, since it’s not a two-way device, you can safely ignore it until you’re somewhere safe. People might hear your pager go buzz (Ooh! were these buzz bombs? LOL!) but you don’t do anything about it until you’re secure and can check. Some pagers also allow one way texting – from the system to your pager – so you don’t even have to call. (Or maybe a phone number is a code for you to initiate something.)
Stop looking at me like that. I’ve had a LOT of counter-terrorism training, combined with lots of bad terrorism movies from the 80s. And actual incident reports from the 80s.
Oh, pagers are also used in hospitals. Because you can set up a radio system for the pagers you don’t have to worry about cell phone signals or interference (on cellphone frequencies, anyway) with equipment. Those in particular use the texting feature, “Patient in rm 204 needs assistance”.
Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been engaged in
No, Shmuckatelli, not “engaged in.” The Israelis have been defending themselves from the Hezbollah attacks.
The best guess by most technology experts
Do remember they are technology experts, so they really only have insight into one possibility. Because “experts.” There’s the possibility of explosives (easier to trigger) or a combination (the overheating battery sets off the explosive). Because simply overheating batteries to explode with “this one neat trick” is not really reliable. Also, pagers aren’t smartphones where you download updates from the cloud regularly.
The Israeli military has not commented on the incident.
Of course not. They’re just the guy standing quietly in the corner, smiling, as all his enemies go running about with their pants on fire.
Hezbollah and the Islamic Republic of Iran will conduct a top-to-bottom check
This is called “inducing paranoia” and it’s often a side goal of any Israeli op. How many helicopter maintenance guys probably got tortured when whatsisface met the mountain? How many maids and housekeepers were tortured or thrown in prison for the Princess-and-the-Pea Bomb incident? If your enemy thinks you’re omniscient and omnipresent, it really crimps their offense.
Hezbollah is claiming nine are dead
The key is that even the ones who were just hurt were hurt in scary ways to a Muslim. The loss of a hand makes you look like a thief. The loss of your … kumquats makes you marred in a way that I think denies you entrance to Paradise. It also helps identify you to Israeli intelligence later…
“How can you possibly detect the Hezbollah operatives in this dense of a population?”
“The ones with limps.”
Do not discount the psychological impact of this event. On top of making the terrorists question everything for a while, it puts a smile on the face of so many who hate the terrorists. Like mine.
Wfjag says: Is that a Pager in your pants or are you happy to see me?
NTSOG says: What use are the fabled 72 virgins if one’s pager blew one’s nuts off?
Reports this morning of walkie-talkies going up. One wonders if, having mostly taken care of the western front, the Israelis are now planning to deal with the northern front. (By more conventional means after this “flank” attack.)
If so, more power to them.
Well, I’m behind a bit. Also reports of solar power and electric cars (more than usual) blowing up.
GWB says: At least one of the “secure radios” blew up at the funeral of a Hezbollah crony who died from a pager explosion.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
The exploding carrier pigeon jokes have already begun.
After this, they’re going to have to avoid electronics, electrics, anything with a cavity, pizza falafel deliveries….
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