Thousands of people were injured in Lebanon on Tuesday, after pagers used by the Hezbollah armed group for communication exploded all over the country almost simultaneously. In addition, at least nine people were killed in the explosions.
It is unclear how the attack took place, which seems very sophisticated. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, whose officials have not yet commented.
When and where the attack took place
The explosions began at 15:45 local time in the southern part of Beirut and in several other areas of Lebanon. Witnesses said they first saw a little smoke coming from people’s trouser pockets, and then a small explosion that sounded like fireworks and gunshots.
One of the footage from the security camera shows an explosion in the pants pocket of a man who was standing in front of the cash register. The Reuters agency reported that the explosions continued for an hour after the first explosions. Soon after, large numbers of people began arriving at hospitals across Lebanon, and witnesses say mass confusion reigned.
Unnamed security sources told the Reuters agency that among the injured were the sons of high-ranking Hezbollah officials, and that Iranian ambassador Mojtaba Amani also received a “superficial injury” and is under hospital observation. Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was not injured.
How did the pagers explode?
Analysts were surprised by the scale of the attack, noting that Hezbollah prides itself on its security measures. Some believe that the hack could have caused the pager’s batteries to overheat, potentially causing it to explode. If it is found that this actually happened, then it would be an unprecedented act.
However, experts are of the opinion that this is unlikely because what is seen in the videos does not suggest that the batteries are overheated. According to some analysts, it is more likely that some manipulation took place during the production of pagers or during their transport.
These types of manipulations or attacks are increasingly worrying in the cyber world. Such attacks mainly involve attacks on device software, and less often on device hardware. If a supply chain attack is found to have taken place, then it means that a major operation has been carried out.
Why Hezbollah uses pagers
Hezbollah relies heavily on pagers for communication. Namely, mobile phones are too vulnerable, as demonstrated by the Israeli killing of Yahya Ayyash in 1996, who was in charge of making bombs in the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
An unnamed Hezbollah operative told the Associated Press news agency that the pagers were a novelty that they had not used before. Emily Harding, a former CIA analyst, believes that the explosions will force Hezbollah to review its entire security apparatus, writes the BBC.
Israel is responsible for the explosion of pagers in Lebanon, that is, for the attack in which pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah exploded simultaneously yesterday, CNN has learned.
This operation, as stated, was the result of cooperation between the Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad and the Israeli army.
Israel planted explosives in a batch of Taiwanese-made pagers imported into Lebanon and intended for Hezbollah, the New York Times reported, citing US and other officials briefed on the operation.
President of the Taiwanese company Hsu Chin-Kuang says the pagers were made by a European distributor for the manufacturer Gold Apollo.
Explosives are placed next to the battery in each pager, and a remote detonation switch is installed, according to the New York Times.
The devices detonated simultaneously after receiving the message on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least nine people and injuring more than 2,800.
Of the total number of injured persons, 170 are in critical condition.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the attack. Israel has not commented.
