Hundreds of Hezbollah pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon, killing 9 and injuring 2,750. The explosions' cause is unknown, but theories include hacked radio networks and supply chain tampering. The incident reveals potential flaws in otherwise secure communication methods.
In an unexpected turn of events, hundreds of pagers belonging to the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon on September 17, 2024. According to Lebanese security services and the health minister, the incident killed at least nine people and injured 2,750 others.
The explosions, which began at 4:45 p.m. and lasted about an hour, marked a new chapter in one of the region's longest-running conflicts. Among the dead were two Hezbollah fighters and Mohammad Mahdi Ammar, the son of Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar. Mojtaba Amani, Iran's ambassador to Lebanon, was also injured in the explosions. An eight-year-old girl has been identified among the dead.
Pagers, small communication devices that display short text messages relayed by radio frequency, have been favoured by groups like Hezbollah for their perceived security advantages. Unlike mobile phones, pagers operate on radio waves, making them theoretically harder to monitor.
The exact cause of the explosions remains unknown, but speculation is rife. Some experts suggest that the radio network used by the pagers may have been hacked, triggering a response within potentially compromised devices. Data analyst Ralph Baydoun told Al Jazeera, "What I think happened [is that] every Hezbollah [member] who was at a specific level was attacked."
Others, like former British army officer and chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, proposed that the pagers may have been tampered with along the supply chain and "wired to explode on command".
The technical specifics of how a pager could explode are still being debated. One theory suggests that if the pager's lithium battery was triggered to overheat, it could initiate a process called thermal runaway, leading to a violent explosion. However, triggering such a reaction in multiple devices not connected to the internet presents significant technical challenges.
Hezbollah has pointed the finger at Israel, stating, "We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression." However, Israel has remained characteristically silent on the matter.
Hundreds of Hezbollah pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon, killing 9 and injuring 2,750.
The cause of the explosions is unknown, but theories range from hacked radio networks to supply chain tampering.
The incident exposes potential vulnerabilities in supposedly secure communication methods.
Source: ALJAZEERA
