Israel’s Netanyahu hastily greenlit pager, walkie-talkie attacks; feared Hezbollah got wind of plot: Report

Israel hastily carried out the attack on Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and Syria by detonating their communication devices, fearing that the paramilitary group had gained intel into its plot, according to a report by Axios. Three US officials told the American news website that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greenlit detonations of RDX-loaded pagers and walkie-talkies after “receiving intelligence” that the Hezbollah leadership may have discovered its plot and ditch the tampered devices.

Thousands of pagers detonated on Tuesday, September 17, across Lebanon and some parts of Syria, wounding over 3,000 and killing at least 26 persons, including Hezbollah fighters. A day later, more electronic devices such as walkie-talkies detonated during a funeral in Lebanon in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted Hezbollah fighters, triggering theories of how and when Israel may have “tampered” with the devices.

Some reports indicate Israeli interference during the supply chain before they were imported into Lebanon, while others suggest that Mossad compromised the devices by planting 3 grams of RDX in each one. The initial investigation found that the pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting in Budapest, Hungary, fuelling suspicion that Israel got its hands on the pagers before Hezbollah.

Why was Hezbollah using outdated pagers?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had earlier warned its fighters about potential hacking attempts on Lebanese cell networks by Israel. It feared that their mobile devices could also be used to track the group's movements or carry out attacks on them, resulting in the group using outdated pagers for communication. What is Hezbollah? Read here

Pagers also run on a different wireless network than mobile phones, which usually makes them more resilient in times of emergency. And for a group like Hezbollah, the pagers provided a means to sidestep what’s believed to be intensive Israeli electronic surveillance on mobile phone networks in Lebanon — as pagers' tech is simpler and carries lower risks for intercepted communications.

While there has been no official confirmation from Israel on the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, an American official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told AP that Israel briefed the US on the operation — where small amounts of explosives hidden in the pagers were detonated.

(With agency inputs)