Lebanon Pager Blasts: How Did It Happen, Is Israel's Mossad Behind Hezbollah Attack? Know The Technology

How did thousands of pagers explode killing nine people and injuring thousands in the Middle Eastern country of Lebanon? What was the technology that went unnoticed and wreaked havoc that shook the world? Has the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad proved once again that it can carry out lethal attacks in the most innovative way?
In an unprecedented and coordinated attack carried out in Lebanon, thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously, killing nine Hezbollah militants and injuring more than 2,750 spread across the county.

Why Did Hezbollah Use Pagers?

If media reports are to be believed, Hezbollah asked its fighters to shun mobile phones after many of its commanders were identified, targeted and killed in missile strikes carried out by the Israel Defence Force. It was believed the Jewish state monitored and tracked the cellphones and carried out the attacks, eliminating hundreds of its fighters, including commanders.
The Hezbollah fighters replaced mobile phones with pagers, the short-lived technology that was soon overtaken by mobile phone technology way back in the 1990s.

Was Mossad Behind Explosion?

If media reports are to be believed, Israeli intelligence agency Mossad had got the devices corrupted before they were delivered. The device was fitted with explosives that exploded at a specific time. It appears to be a clear case of sabotage as more than 1,000 devices imported by Hezbollah were compromised before they reached the users.

Was Explosive PETN Placed In Pagers?

The media reports also suggest that a notorious intelligence agency of the Jewish state infiltrated the Shiite militant outfit, and disturbed its communication devices before they were handed over to them. The Mossad operatives placed a small quantity of highly explosive material Pentaerythritol tetranitrate or PETN on the batteries of the devices. These explosives were detonated by raising the temperature of the batteries from afar.

Did Hezbollah Import Pagers From Taiwan?

It has also been reported that the Jewish state hid the explosives inside pagers Hezbollah ordered from Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo. It also embedded a switch to detonate them remotely. It may be recalled that Gold Apollo shipped about 260,000 pagers from Taiwan between January 2022 and August 2024, though there is no record of the devices reaching Hezbollah.

How Were Explosions Carried?

The million-dollar question baffling the experts remains whether the explosion was carried out.
The experts initially believed the lithium-ion batteries were somehow overheated causing the pagers may have caused the pagers to explode. However, the images of the destroyed devices show signs of detonation.
Talking to the 'Times Of Israel', Paul Christensen, lithium-ion battery safety expert at Newcastle University said that the level of damage caused by the pager explosions is not consistent with the known cases of such battery explosions. If reports are to be believed, Mossad could have used the weakness in the device to cause it to explode.

Clear Case Of Sabotage?

Taking to the social media platform X, a former CIA analyst reminded how he had warned about the sabotage. He wrote in a post, "Ostensibly, you’d detonate the pagers on the eve of a major escalation so that ~3,000 Hezbollah fighters no longer have fingers to pull triggers. I’ve warned that we’re heading for a major war (bigger than ‘06) b/w Israel and Hezbollah. Those warnings have fallen on deaf ears."

What Next?

It is clear in the most unambiguous terms that the pagers did not explode on their own or accidentally, the devices were exploded deliberately and in a coordinated manner. Tel Aviv has made its intention clear by targeting the Hezbollah militants in the most innovative way that it can go to any extent and reach anywhere. Hezbollah has vowed to avenge the attack and the war in the Middle East is most likely to escalate.