Pager blasts in Lebanon: Hezbollah blames Israel, vows revenge

The BBC, commenting on a series of coordinated pager explosions on September 17 in Lebanon, emphasized that physical attacks on electronic equipment are very rare. Citing experts, the station reported that small explosive charges were most likely placed in the devices.

The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that at least eight people were killed in the pager explosions, and over 2,800 were injured, with about 200 in critical condition. The victims included members of Hezbollah, which blames Israel for the attack and vows retaliation. Israeli authorities declined to comment.

An anonymous expert who previously served in the British army said in an interview with the BBC that the devices most likely contained 0.4-0.7 ounces of explosive materials for military applications, and the charges were then remotely activated.

Shortly after the attack, it was reported that the explosions seemed to indicate a different nature than explosions that occur with overheated batteries. However, it was speculated at what stage the interference with the pagers could have occurred: during the devices' production, transport, or storage.

"This is unprecedented. Hezbollah prides itself on its advanced security measures, honed through decades of conflict with Israel. An attack of such scale not only causes casualties and damage but also undermines the entire security system of the organization," explained former CIA analyst Emily Harding to the BBC.

A pager is a small wireless electronic device used to communicate through short text messages displayed on a screen.

Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at the University of London, wrote on social media that "this attack demonstrates how deeply Israel has infiltrated Hezbollah's communication networks, allowing it to paralyze the group's operations through intelligence actions without needing ground operations."

The BBC commented that cyberattacks are becoming increasingly significant in modern conflicts, although they usually involve software. Attacks targeting hardware are very rare and require significant resources and access to devices, such as in factories.

Since the outbreak of the war in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, Iran-backed Hezbollah has been regularly shelling northern Israel, which has been met with counterattacks. The situation on the Israel-Hezbollah front is increasingly tense, and media speculate that authorities in Jerusalem may decide on a ground operation in southern Lebanon.