According to media reports, the radio receivers that exploded simultaneously in Lebanon in their hundreds were probably prepared with explosives by Israeli agents beforehand. Many of the so-called pagers came from a delivery that the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which is hostile to Israel, had received in recent days, reported the Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the matter. Israeli agents intercepted the Taiwan-made devices before they arrived in Lebanon and loaded each one with around 25 to 50 grams of explosives, reported the New York Times, citing American and other officials who had been informed of the operation.
The Wall Street Journal quoted the managing director of a US cybersecurity company as saying that it is possible that hackers could have used malware to cause the batteries in the pagers to explode by heating them up. But that would be very difficult. Not only would the hackers have to know the exact make and model, the effect would also not have been as severe as videos of the explosions suggest, the expert said. He also believes it is more likely that a delivery of the pagers was intercepted on the way from the manufacturer to its destination and packed with explosives and a code.
According to the Ministry of Health in Lebanon, around 2,750 people were injured and nine people were killed in the simultaneous explosions. Many Hezbollah fighters are said to be among the injured, including members of the elite Radwan force. According to information from the US news portal Axios, the explosions also paralyzed a significant part of Hezbollah’s military command and control system.
The attack carried out by Israel was aimed at unsettling Hezbollah and creating the feeling within the militia’s ranks that it was completely penetrated by Israeli intelligence services, Axios quoted an unnamed source as saying. Israel’s army did not initially comment on the incidents.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240918-930-235556/1
This is a message directly from the dpa news channel.
