Covertness is fundamental to Hezbollah's military tactics. Unforeseen explosions from encrypted pagers unveil a significant vulnerability.
The terrorist group aligned with Iran announced that wireless devices started blowing up around 3:30 PM local time, marking a hostile Israeli assault against Hezbollah operatives. CNN confirmed that Israel was orchestrating this joint endeavor with their intelligence service, the Mossad, and the military. Lebanon's government denounced this as criminal Israeli aggression.
Israel's military, which frequently exchanges attacks with Hezbollah since the escalation of conflicts with Iran-backed Palestinian militants, Hamas, in Gaza last year, has refused to comment on this incident.
New pagers, recently acquired by Hezbollah, were reported as the exploding devices by a Lebanese security source provided to CNN. They failed to disclose the exact date of purchase or the model of the devices.
Analysts argue that the unprecedented scale and nature of these explosions expose Hezbollah's weakness, as their communication network was compromised with lethal consequences.
The blast-affected regions mostly targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, a densely populated area known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Extensive footage demonstrated shoppers and pedestrians collapsing in the streets following the blasts. The injured displaying gruesome flesh wounds, courtesy of lost fingers, damaged eyes, and ripped abdomens.
At least nine lives were claimed, including a young child, while approximately 2,800 were admitted to Lebanese hospitals, straining their resources.
Hezbollah prioritizes secrecy for their military objectives, using non-technological means to avoid invasive surveillance. Unlike other Middle Eastern non-state actors, they rely on an internal communication network, providing one of the key factors to build their powerful presence that has long been accused of functioning like a state within a state.
Long-time Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, urged members in southern Lebanon at the beginning of the year to cease using cellphones, fearing Israeli espionage through the devices. He visualized cellphones as the collaborator with the Israelis and the killer, and ordered them to be buried, locked away, or hidden from sight.
Responding to these concerns, Hezbollah returned to using pagers, according to Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence officer. Melamed asserted that the pagers allowed counterparts to communicate via those phone lines, although posing a risk itself, subject to GPS targeting.
Imagine Hezbollah members using pagers, assuming they were safer. Little did they realize their own devices may have been the cause of their distress.
"Hezbollah regressed to these devices, assuming they would be safer for their combatants to use instead of phones that could potentially be GPS targeted," Melamed said. "These low-tech devices were utilized against them, further deepening the stress and embarrassment among their leaders."
The explosion mechanism of the pagers continues to elicit fervent speculation.
As Lebanon grapples with this shocking event, a tale circulated in the media that Israel smuggled explosives inside a batch of pagers crafted by Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo and destined for Hezbollah. A detonator switch was embedded, allowing remote detonation, reported the NY Times.
Most of the devices used were the Gold Apollo AP924 model. Three other Gold Apollo models figured in the shipment, revealed the NY Times.
Images of damaged Gold Apollo pagers surfaced online, suggesting that the devices were involved in the wave of explosions. Although CNN could not geolocate these social media images, they have verified these were posted the same day as the attacks. Among these posts, a single pager visibly depicted the Gold Apollo AR924 model. CNN reached out to the manufacturer for comment.
Communications expert David Kennedy expressed doubts that the explosions observed in the footage shared online were the result of a remote, direct hack causing a battery explosion. Human operatives deep within Hezbollah ranks would have been essential to the execution of this operation, according to Kennedy.
"This is one of the most far-reaching and coordinated attacks I've ever witnessed. The level of organization required to pull this off is impeccable," he said. "Human intelligence was the primary method utilized in executing this operation, complemented by infiltrating the supply chain to manipulate the devices."
The purpose of this strike is brilliantly clear: an intimidating message to Hezbollah — "We can reach you whenever we want, without warning or mercy."
The offensive was in all likelihood a means to instill well-founded fear among Hezbollah forces, hinder their recruitment efforts, and undermine their confidence in their leadership and their ability to ensure their members' safety.
Israel's proven capabilities in encroachment, technology, and intelligence were lauded by Amos Yadlin, Former Israeli military intelligence chief and one of the country's leading strategic analysts.
"The Israeli strike displayed remarkable infiltration abilities, technology, and intelligence" Yadlin commented. "Could it be Israel was delivering a message to Nasrallah? 'How far will you go to destroy Israel, and at what cost?' The seemingly impenetrable and powerful organization has been penetrated and exposed."
The human cost of that exposure is immeasurable.
Inquired about Israel potentially initiating such an attack, Kim Ghattas, a Lebanese journalist and writer for The Atlantic, mentioned to CNN that it could be an attempt to " intimidate Hezbollah into surrender, sending a clear message that an uptick in their attacks against Israel will result in even more severe retaliation."
Or it could be the prelude to a substantial Israeli operation against Lebanon, as Hezbollah grapples with the fallout of this highly unconventional attack against its operatives.
Why would Israel desire to confront Hezbollah?
Israel, not yet commenting publicly on the deadly incident, is frequently pointed to as aiming to weaken Hezbollah, analysts suggest.
Moreover, Israel belongs to a small handful of nations with the technical know-how to carry out such a covert infiltration of a supply chain. According to Miller, CNN analyst, "Which intelligence agency possesses the capacity to execute an operation like this? The list is brief, with Israel taking the lead."
Israel has a history of remote attacks in the region, some attributing or accusing Israel and the United States of deploying a sophisticated computer virus called "Stuxnet" that damaged centrifuges at an Iranian nuclear facility in 2009 and 2010.
In 2020, an Iranian nuclear scientist was "assassinated" in Tehran by a remotely controlled machine gun mounted in a car equipped with facial recognition technology. This year, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed with a "explosive device" concealed in the guest house where he was residing in the Iranian capital, as reported by a source familiar with the situation to CNN. Iran alleged Israel for the assassinations.
The attack heightened tensions in the already volatile region. Conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has never been more severe, following Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7th. Hezbollah, in possession of a substantial stockpile of weapons, has declared that its attacks on Israel are in solidarity with Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza.
Worried global leaders are racing to prevent an escalation. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke twice with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as per two US defense officials.
The official refrained from disclosing the call dates. Although they usually communicate frequently, holding two calls within the same day is unusual and demonstrates the US' grave concern for the current situation.
Christian Edwards, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Jeremy Diamond and Sabrina Shulman contributed to the reporting for CNN.
The incident raises concerns about the security of communication devices in the Middle East, as analysts question whether Israel smuggled explosives inside pagers manufactured by a Taiwanese company and intended for Hezbollah. Hezbollah has a history of prioritizing secrecy for their military objectives and using non-technological means to avoid invasive surveillance, relying on an internal communication network and shunning wireless devices due to potential GPS targeting.
