In one of the most shocking and effective anti-terrorist operations till date, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad is believed to have carried out the explosion in pagers held by thousands of Hezbollah terrorists on the 17th of September in Lebanon and Syria. The attack left over 2800 terrorists injured and 9 dead as per latest reports.
While certain theories are floating around how exactly Mossad executed the simultaneous explosions in the pagers Hezbollah terrorists were carrying, it would be interesting to know why these terrorists were using pagers at all in the era of modern technology smartphones.
Following the killings of key commanders in targeted Israeli airstrikes in the past few months, the Iran-backed Islamist terror group Hezbollah had employed certain ‘low-tech’ tactics to avoid its adversary’s advanced surveillance systems. It has also been utilising its own technology, drones, to study and assault Israel’s intelligence-collecting capabilities, a policy described by Hezbollah’s commander, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as “blinding” Israel. However, it seems Hezbollah was blinded to the capabilities of Mossad to beat the terror group at their own game.
REPORT: Israel apparently intercepted the pagers from Taiwan that detonated in the pockets of thousands of Hezbollah fighters before they reached Lebanon.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 17, 2024
According to the New York Times, Israel tampered with the devices that Hezbollah ordered.
They reportedly placed two… pic.twitter.com/hE1DmFhxDL
Notably, ever since Hezbollah extended support to Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas, the Israeli defence forces and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire. Israel’s sophisticated Electronic surveillance technology has proved vital in its strikes on Hezbollah targets.
As per a Reuters report, the IDF has stated that it has security cameras and remote sensing equipment trained in regions where Hezbollah operates, and it often sends surveillance drones over the border to spy on the enemy. Notably, Israel’s electronic spying, which includes hacking into cell phones and computers, is widely recognised as some of the most sophisticated in the world.
Hezbollah banned cell phones, switched pagers and couriers to counter Israel’s sophisticated tech surveillance
In response to Israel’s next-level warfare, Hezbollah changed its tactics. Cell phones, which may trace a user’s location, have been prohibited on the battlefield instead more old-fashioned methods such as pagers and couriers are being used. In addition, Hezbollah has also been using a private fixed-line telecommunications network. If conversations are overheard, code words for weaponry and meeting places are used. These are updated almost every day and sent to units through couriers.
Interestingly, the Al Qaeda terrorist Osama Bin Laden had evaded arrest for decades by cutting off from internet and cell phones. Perhaps, Hezbollah took a page from Laden’s book, however, Israel has managed to breach Hezbollah’s old-fashioned counters to the Israeli sophisticated tech warfare.
As per Islamist terror group Hezbollah and Lebanese security authorities, Israel has also begun using local agents to zero down on targets. Since Lebanon is engulfed in economic crises and political rivalry, Israeli recruiters have been doing their job well.
In an interesting incident from 22nd November last year, a woman from south Lebanon received a cell phone call from someone claiming to be a local official. The caller, who spoke fluent Arabic, enquired if the family was home. No, the woman said, adding that they had been to eastern Lebanon. Minutes later, a missile smashed into the woman’s home in the village of Beit Yahoun, killing five Hezbollah jihadis.
While Israel is showing no mercy to the terrorists, the call was made to the woman to confirm if any civilians were present at the target location before launching the strike.
‘Israel was tracking cell phones’, so they switched to pagers
Following the killings of Wissam al-Tawil, Taleb Abdallah, and Mohammed Nasser, commanders in charge of Hezbollah’s operations in the south, as well as Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas’ deputy leader, who was killed while attending a meeting in Beirut, Hezbollah suspected Israel was tracking their cell phones. The terror group used its affiliated Al-Nour radio to caution its terrorists not to heed cold calls from callers claiming to be local officials as they could be Israeli agents. Since then, the cell phone ban is strictly implemented and any Hezbollah terrorist found in possession of cell phone is kicked out of the terror group. Besides, Hezbollah is using small, homemade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to gather information about Israeli targets and attack its surveillance systems.
In the 17th September pager attack, it is being said that Mossad got hold of the shipment of pagers ordered by Hezbollah before they were handed over to the Islamist terror group. As per one of the theories on how the attack was orchestrated, Mossad allegedly placed a certain amount of PETN, a highly explosive substance, on the batteries of the devices and exploded them by raising the temperature of the batteries remotely. However, the theories are still being debated with no official confirmation.
Meanwhile, Elijah J. Magnier, a Brussels-based senior political risk analyst opined that an error message sent to all the devices causing them to vibrate, forcing the user to press the buttons to stop the vibration. The combination detonated a small amount of explosives hidden inside and ensured that the user was present when the blast went off.
