Lebanon pager blasts: Why Hezbollah uses pagers in the age of smartphones?

In an attack that seemed straight out of a geo-political thriller, thousands of pagers owned by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and parts of Syria exploded almost simultaneously on Tuesday (September 17) causing at least nine deaths while leaving over 3,000 people injured.

Mossad involved?

Multiple reports quoting senior Lebanese security sources have claimed that the explosives were planted in around 5,000 Taiwan-made pagers by Israel’s spy agency Mossad five months before the detonations.

The New York Times, quoting some American officials, said that small amounts of explosive material (one or two ounces) were implanted next to the battery in a new batch of Taiwanese-made pagers that were imported into Lebanon.

A switch was also apparently embedded in the Gold Apollo pagers, which could be triggered remotely to detonate the explosives.

At 3.30 pm in Lebanon, the pagers received a message that activated the explosives.

Why were pagers targeted?

Earlier this year, Hezbollah’s top honcho, Hassan Nasrallah, implemented a new security protocol in the organisation limiting the use of mobile phones because they were increasingly vulnerable to Israeli surveillance.

About 5,000 pagers were ordered from the Gold Apollo company in Taiwan and were distributed to Hezbollah members all over Lebanon.

The attack affected the pagers that were switched on and receiving messages.

The unique attack has not only caused deaths and injuries but has also disrupted Hezbollah’s major means of communication.

This is said to be the biggest security breach experienced by Hezbollah in decades.

The founder of Gold Apollo, Hsu Ching-Kuang told Reuters that the pagers were not manufactured by his company but by a firm in Europe that had the right to use the Gold Apollo brand.

Why does Hezbollah use pagers?

Why does Hezbollah use pagers in the age of smartphones? There are several reasons.

A military analyst said that Hezbollah relied on pagers because it helped avoid being intercepted by Israel. One-way pagers are mostly untraceable because there is no signal transmission to the base station that sends the signal.

Six months ago, the Hezbollah head told his group’s members and their families to get rid of their mobile phones.

“Shut it off, bury it, put it in an iron chest and lock it up. Do it for the sake of security and to protect the blood and dignity of people,” he said. “The collaborator (with the enemy) is the cell phone in your hands, and those of your wife and your children. This cell phone is the collaborator and the killer.”

Pagers have fewer features, making them easy to use and less prone to technical faults.

These devices operate on messages, which are encrypted and safe from hacking.

The battery life is longer than those in phones, making them more reliable in times of emergency.

Communication experts say that pagers cover a larger area and are more reliable in regions where the cellular network is weak.

Those who favour pagers say they are simple and effective.

Avoiding cell phones makes Hezbollah members far more difficult to track.

However, a former CIA analyst said it makes the Hezbollah leadership much less effective in communicating quickly with their members.

Was Israel behind the explosions?

Hezbollah said it holds Israel “fully responsible for this criminal aggression, and that it will receive its just punishment for this sinful aggression”.

Hamas, which is fighting a war with Israel in Gaza, said the pager blasts were an “escalation”, and that it would only lead Israel to failure and defeat.

“Israel’s spy agency Mossad injected a board inside the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It’s very hard to detect it through any means, even with any device or scanner,” a source told Reuters.

What is Israel’s response?

Israeli authorities or the Israeli army have not made any comments about the explosions or the allegations that they were behind the blasts.

However, a former intelligence analyst of America’s NSA said Israel has used similar tactics in the past. Israel’s Shin Bet had allegedly planted RDX explosive in a mobile phone to kill Hamas leader Yahya Ayyash in 1996. The device was triggered when he made a call.

Hezbollah vows retaliation, Israel on alert

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad has said that of the 2,800 injured, 200 are in a critical condition having sustained injuries on the face, hands, and stomach.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah has held the Israeli Army responsible for the “criminal aggression” while vowing to retaliate with “just punishment”.

Following Hezbollah’s threat, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has braced for retaliation with Lieutenant General Herzi Halveri insisting that the country be ready “for attack and defence in all arenas”.