Israel’s pagers of death herald new tech war tactic

In a bold display of technological warfare, Israel has reportedly orchestrated a devastating strike on Hezbollah by clandestinely turning the group’s communication devices into deadly weapons.

Multiple media outlets reported that simultaneous explosions of Hezbollah’s communication devices rocked Lebanon, killing 12 people, including two children, and injuring nearly 3,000.

The devices were reportedly tampered with to include small amounts of explosives next to the battery and were triggered by a remotely sent message. Certain reports claimed the devices were made by Taiwan’s Gold Apollo, which the company denied, saying it gave a Hungary-based company a license to make them under its brand.

Other reports suggested, with apparent photographic evidence, that they were made by Japan’s Icom. However, the company claimed the model had been out of production for a decade and vowed to launch an investigation into the reports.

Hezbollah has blamed Israel, which has remained silent, as has been typical in similar cases. Indeed, the possibility that Israeli intelligence had a hand in the devices’ production cannot be ruled out. The attack comes amid heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, following cross-border skirmishes that began after Hamas’s October 7 attack.

Hezbollah, known for using pagers to avoid surveillance, appears to have suffered a significant breach in its communication infrastructure. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was among the injured, with reports stating he lost an eye in the blast.

Vowing retaliation, Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israeli positions shortly after the blasts. This latest development threatens to destabilize the region further, with the UN Security Council scheduled to meet on