Exploding Pagers in Lebanon Hezbollah Attack Suspected as Supply Chain Infiltration

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is Hezbollah?
• What is Pager?
• Lebanon attacks

Why in News?

In Lebanon, thousands were injured after pagers used by Hezbollah, a militant group, exploded almost simultaneously across the country. The blasts resulted in at least nine deaths and around 2,800 injuries, many of them severe.

The cause of the attack remains unclear, but it appears to have been highly sophisticated. Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the incident, though Israeli officials have not yet commented on the matter.

What is Hezbollah?

• About
  • Hezbollah, meaning "Party of God," is considered the world’s most heavily armed non-state actor, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
  • The group possesses a wide range of weaponry, including rockets and missiles.
  • The group opposes Israel and Western influence in the region, and it has supported Syria's President Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.
  • In the mid-2000s, Hezbollah became more involved in Lebanese politics and now holds seats in the country's parliament.
  • However, it has faced increasing protests due to worsening economic conditions in Lebanon.
• Formation
  • It originated during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), a conflict partly fueled by the presence of Palestinian refugees after the creation of Israel in 1948, which led to Israeli invasions of southern Lebanon in 1978 and 1982.
  • Hezbollah was formed around this period, inspired by Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution, and has received funding and support from Iran and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

What is Pager?

• About
  • A pager, or beeper, is a small, portable device used for receiving and sometimes sending short messages or alerts.
  • Pagers receive messages through radio frequencies from a base station or central dispatch.
  • Messages can be numeric or alphanumeric, which are then displayed to the user.
  • Two-way pagers allow users to send and receive messages, similar to early text messaging.
• Operation
  • Pagers operate on dedicated radio frequencies and are designed to receive messages over these frequencies.
  • The range of a pager depends on the frequency band used and the coverage area of the paging network.
• Popularity in Professional Use
  • Pagers were widely used in the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially in professions requiring reliable communication, such as healthcare and emergency services.
  • They do not rely on cellular networks, making them more dependable in areas with poor cellular coverage.
• Types of Pagers
  • Numeric Pagers: Display only numbers, often used to send phone numbers or simple alerts.
  • Alphanumeric Pagers: Display both letters and numbers, allowing for more detailed messages.
• Advantages of using a pager
  • Pagers are ideal for quick alerts and reliable communication, especially in remote areas where cellular signals might be weak.
  • They are straightforward devices, simple to use, and less prone to technical issues.
  • One-way pagers are generally untraceable because there is no signal transmission to the base station that sends the signal in the first place.
• Reasons behind its decline
  • With the rise of mobile phones and their extensive features, the use of pagers has declined significantly over time.
  • Mobile phones offer more advanced communication options, including voice calls, text messages, and internet access.

Lebanon attacks

• About the news
  • A spree of simultaneous detonations of pagers across Lebanon killed nine people and injured around 3000.
• Hezbollah has been using such devices for years to make it harder for their messages to be intercepted.
  • The Hezbollah said in a statement that pagers used by people working for the group’s institutions began exploding mysteriously.
• Who is responsible for the attack?
  • The attack took place a day after Israeli leaders had said they were considering stepping up their military campaign against Hezbollah.
  • Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the incident. Israel has not commented on this incident so far.
• Israel-Hezbollah conflict heating up
  • On October 8, 2023, Hezbollah began exchanging fire with Israel, a day after Hamas launched attacks in southern Israel, igniting the Israel-Gaza conflict.
  • As a Hamas ally, Hezbollah claims its attacks are in support of Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.
  • The conflict has drawn in Iran-backed militants across the region, with Hezbollah being the strongest member of the "Axis of Resistance."
  • While connected to Gaza, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has its own dynamics, with the two having fought multiple wars, the last major one being in 2006.
  • Israel views Hezbollah as a major threat, particularly due to its growing arsenal and influence in Syria.
• Exploding pagers: an indication of Supply chain infiltration
  • Initial speculation suggested that the pager explosions in Lebanon were caused by a hack that overheated the batteries, but this theory was quickly dismissed based on footage of the blasts.
  • Cybersecurity experts described the event as potentially one of the largest physical supply chain attacks in history.
  • Following warnings from Hezbollah to avoid mobile phones over fears of Israeli tampering, the group had switched to using pagers.
  • A new batch of pagers was recently delivered, and experts suspect that Israel may have infiltrated the supply chain, possibly planting military-grade explosives inside the devices.
  • Experts suggested the pagers could have been armed via an electronic signal, such as an alphanumeric message.
  • According to a Hezbollah official, the devices were programmed to beep for several seconds before exploding, although the exact method behind the explosions remains unclear.

Q.1. What was the cause of the pager explosions in Lebanon?

The cause of the explosions remains unclear, but experts suggest a sophisticated supply chain attack. Speculation points to Israel as the suspect, possibly infiltrating Hezbollah’s newly delivered pagers with military-grade explosives.

Q.2. How has the Hezbollah-Israel conflict escalated in 2023?

Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel on October 8, 2023, following Hamas' attacks. As a Hamas ally, Hezbollah claims its attacks are in support of Palestinians in Gaza, further intensifying the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.

Source: Exploding pagers in Lebanon: Supply chain tampering prime suspect in Hezbollah deaths | BBC | Indian Express