17 September 2024

It was an ordinary Tuesday morning across Lebanon, a day like any other. Hezbollah’s operatives moved through their routines, checking communications, and maintaining their networks, all with the confidence that their system was secure. Thousands of pagers — simple, unassuming devices meant to relay messages across Hezbollah’s ranks — buzzed with seemingly routine instructions. But these pagers were no longer innocent tools of communication. Very soon they would be turned into deadly, destructive weapon systems.

At precisely 11:43 AM, a single transmission was sent across the pager system. What appeared to be a harmless message was the trigger, in a devastating instant, thousands of pagers erupted into explosions. Across southern Beirut, the stronghold of Hezbollah, chaos reigned. A dozen were killed instantly, their bodies torn apart by the blasts. Over 3000 were left maimed, bleeding, and screaming for help in the rubble-strewn streets. Operation Below the Belt was in progress in Lebanon!

What had begun as an ordinary day had turned into a hellish nightmare — a ruthless act of technological sabotage, designed not just to cripple Hezbollah, but to send a terrifying message across Lebanon. It was also one of the most sophisticated and systematic methods of warfare against Lebanon which stunned the world. The suspect is Penta Erythritol Tetra Nitrate ( PETN) or a similar powerful detonator was injected in minute quantities into the electronic circuit of these pagers or in the lithium batteries and on sending a trigger signal the batteries would get overheated and cause a high-temperature explosion killing and injuring the people in the vicinity.

Why were they using obsolete pagers ?

Some time at the beginning of this year Hezbollah Commander Hassan Nasrallah gave strict instructions to his cadres that there was an immense danger to them and their families if they continued to use their mobile phones recklessly because Israel is tracking their phones, their positions and also capturing all the data from their phones using spyware like Pegasus and other malware. Then Lebanon decided to use the obsolete pagers so that they were not susceptible to any kind of surveillance or tracking. Apparently, with the help of Iran, they placed the order for 5000 pagers with a company called Alpha Gold. However, the Taiwan-based company denies it and reiterates that these pagers were manufactured by a licensed company in Budapest, Hungary. By the beginning of February, these pagers finally found their way into the pockets of Hizbullah cadres, assuring them of a secure communication network, until…11.43 AM on 17 September 2024, at which instant thousands of these pagers blasted simultaneously turning southern Lebanon into a hellish nightmare. This precise, systematic attack stunned the entire world. Though no one officially claimed responsibility, evidence strongly suggested Mossad was behind the attack. Mossad has a history of using innovative, inconspicuous weapons to carry out precision assassinations and sabotage missions. Many times the Israeli intelligence agency has turned innocent devices into fatal weapons.

Mossad’s Use of Covert Weaponry:

Mossad is known for its sophisticated and covert operations, including the use of disguised devices to neutralise targets. One famous example where Mossad allegedly used an innocent-looking device as a weapon was in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas military commander, in 2010. While he was staying in a hotel in Dubai, some Mossad agents also entered the hotel disguised as tourists. They managed to enter al-Mabhouh's hotel room using cloned keys. They then incapacitated him using a paralysing drug delivered through a pen. Once immobilised, al-Mabhouh was reportedly suffocated or killed through some form of electrical shock.

Mossad is known for employing advanced technology and everyday objects repurposed as weapons. In some cases, Mossad has used explosive-laden phones to assassinate targets. A famous instance was the killing of Wael Zwaiter, a Palestinian intellectual suspected of involvement with Black September, who was shot in Rome in 1972. While Zwaiter was shot, similar operations have included using disguised devices like phones. Mossad has also used car bombs, where explosives were hidden in vehicles to neutralise targets. One such case was the assassination of Hezbollah leader Imad Mughniyeh in 2008, where his car in Damascus was rigged with explosives that detonated when he approached it.

The New Face of Warfare

It appears that warfare is no longer confined to battlefields or the skies filled with warplanes and drones. The battleground has shifted into the very devices we hold in our hands, wear on our bodies, and trust with our most intimate data. The simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers, a seemingly obsolete technology, shatters the illusion that any device is safe. This unprecedented operation—turning innocent communications devices into instruments of death—raises unsettling questions about the future of conflict. No longer do we envision bombs hidden in cars or assassins with guns; today, the weapon is far subtler and far more terrifying: your smartphone, smartwatch, or even your home appliance. How many of us would suspect that our own communication devices, the tools we rely on daily, could be twisted into weapons without us even knowing? If a pager can be turned into an explosive tool of destruction, what about the phones we carry in our pockets or the devices that monitor our homes?

Infiltrating the Assembly Line:

The mystery surrounding the Mossad's pager operation only deepens the fear. Did they manage to infiltrate the assembly line, embedding explosives into devices as they were being built? Or did they hijack the devices during transit, altering their circuitry in secret? The questions don’t end with "how"—they begin to stretch into "what else?" What if future adversaries, be they state actors or terrorist groups, can gain access to the supply chains of globally manufactured products? Today, it’s a pager; tomorrow, it could be the laptops, cars, and smart fridges that populate homes around the world.

In this new warfare, nothing is safe, and no one is immune. The lines between cyber, physical, and psychological warfare are blurring, and the tools of destruction are no longer limited to military arsenals. They could be hiding in plain sight—inside your home, your office, your pocket. As we rush towards a hyper-connected future, we must face the dark reality that every device, every system, and every network we depend on could one day be turned against us. In the new face of warfare, war is everywhere, and weapons are everything.

Wing Commander BS Sudarshan is a former Indian Air Force pilot with over 12,000 flying hours. He participated in Operation Pawan and Operation Cactus before he transitioned to civil aviation. A passionate writer, he has authored six books, including "Hasiru Hampe", appreciated by S L Bhyrappa, and the latest "Evergreen Hampi". He is a regular contributor to the Verandah Club.