A mysterious incident that caused hundreds of old-school pagers to explode in Lebanon appears to be a coordinated attack on Hezbollah.
The pagers were owned by Hezbollah members, who used them to prevent spies from intercepting their communications. But it looks like the pagers were compromised, as many of them exploded on Tuesday in the pockets or hands of their owners.
Videos show the pagers blow apart a user’s clothing and push them to the ground. Other videos show the aftermath, with the victims’ faces or hands disfigured.
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Lebanon’s health minister has told the media that the attacks are so widespread across the country and in Syria that at least 2,750 people, including civilians, are wounded. At least eight people have been killed.
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The incident is raising speculation that Israel found a way to sabotage the pagers, perhaps by using malware or by intercepting a shipment of the devices and then later modifying them to explode. The Wall Street Journal reports that the affected pagers came from a new shipment that Hezbollah received in recent days, citing sources familiar with the matter. The pagers then began heating up and exploded at about 3:30 p.m. local time.
The exact brand or manufacturer of the pagers has yet to be confirmed. But a photo showing the remains of one of the exploded devices suggests Hezbollah was using the Apollo Rugged Pager AR924 model from a Taiwanese manufacturer.
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(Credit: IRGC Telegram channel)
In the meantime, one Hezbollah official told Reuters that the explosions represent the “biggest security breach” the group has experienced in the year since it began fighting Israel. As a result, the incident may be a rare example of a cyberattack causing physical violence, if it’s confirmed that malware or computing hacking is involved.
Hezbollah is blaming Israel for the pager explosions, according to Al Jazeera. So far, the Israeli government has declined to comment on the attacks.
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
