By the Department of Security and Military Research and Studies 18-09-2024

American and Israeli officials have confirmed that “Israel” was responsible for the “Pager” explosions in Lebanon, indicating that it was “a joint operation between the Israeli foreign intelligence agency – Mossad, and the Israeli military.”

In an Israeli cyber-attack on Tuesday, thousands of wireless “pagers” used by civilians and Hezbollah members in Beirut’s southern suburbs, southern Lebanon, and the Bekaa region, extending into Syria, exploded. The attack resulted in several martyrs and approximately 3,000 injuries, with most of the wounds affecting eyes, hands, and the abdomen.

Hezbollah confirmed that the Israeli occupation was responsible for this grave assault after investigating the circumstances. On Wednesday, American and Israeli officials also confirmed that “Israel was behind the attack, which was a joint operation between Mossad and the Israeli military.”

Western and Israeli media outlets circulated information and analysis on how the event unfolded, while Israeli threats to expand the northern front continued to escalate.

 The Importance of Timing

In discussing the motivations for Israel’s attack at this specific time, the Israeli website “Walla” cited senior American officials, who revealed that “Israel decided to detonate thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah members in Lebanon and Syria out of fear that Hezbollah would detect a security breach through its devices.”

An American official stated that “Israel was at a crossroads, either use the rigged pagers or lose them,” describing the “justifications” Israel provided to the United States regarding the timing of the attack.

The site also pointed out that Israeli intelligence agencies “had planned to use the rigged pagers, which they successfully planted in devices used by Hezbollah members, as a surprise opening strike in a full-scale war,” according to a former senior Israeli official.

According to an American source, “Israeli concerns had grown in recent days that Hezbollah might discover that the pagers posed a security breach.” As a result, “urgent consultations took place between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, senior ministers, and the heads of the security, military, and intelligence establishments, leading to the decision to use the secret system now rather than risk its exposure by Hezbollah.”

Similarly, the American site “Al-Monitor” reported that “Israel had come to understand that Hezbollah was close to discovering that the devices were rigged,” as “a Hezbollah member had begun to suspect that something was wrong.”

 Israel Informed Washington of the Operation without Details

“Walla” also reported that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, just minutes before the pagers started exploding across Lebanon. Gallant informed him that “Israel was about to carry out an operation in Lebanon soon,” but did not provide specific details about the target or the nature of the operation.

The American official added that “Israel did not inform the United States in advance about the details of the attack,” but he noted that “the phone call between Gallant and Austin was an attempt to avoid a situation where Israel would completely surprise the United States.”

 How Did Israel Execute Its Cyber Attack?

Regarding the mechanics of the cyber attack, a Lebanese security source told CNN that the pagers that exploded “were new,” as Hezbollah “had purchased them in recent months.”

The New York Times reported that “Israel tampered with these devices before they arrived in Lebanon by inserting a small amount of explosives into each pager.”

Officials told the newspaper that the explosive material, which “weighed no more than an ounce or two,” was “planted near the battery in each pager,” while “a remote-controlled switch was included to detonate the explosives.”

The devices were also “programmed to emit an alert sound for several seconds before exploding,” the officials added.

The newspaper also cited independent cybersecurity experts who analyzed footage of the attacks, confirming that “the power and speed of the explosions were due to a particular type of explosive material.”

After some media outlets reported that these devices were imported from the Taiwanese manufacturer “Gold Apollo,” the company’s president, Hsu Cheng-kuang, denied this, pointing the finger at the Hungarian company “BAC,” which “has the right to use the Taiwanese company’s trademark,” he said.

The Taiwanese company stressed that BAC is the one “producing and selling the AR-924 model,” adding that it “only licenses the trademark and plays no role in the design or manufacture of the product.”

In the same context, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs confirmed that there was no record of direct exports to Lebanon, suggesting that modifications were made to the devices after they were exported.