On September 17, pagers started detonating in Lebanon and Syria sending Hezbollah into confusion. A day later, the walkie-talkies exploded in a similar way during the funeral of those who died in a pager attack.
Recently, Congress leader Rashid Alvi made some bold claims about electronic voting machines (EVMs) in India. He suggested that because Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a close relationship with Israel, the EVMs could be manipulated—just like Hezbollah's pagers, which allegedly turned into explosive
Recently, the world witnessed a new kind of technology-based weapon wherein Israel reportedly deployed explosives inside pagers and other communication devices, resulting in the killing of civilians and Hezbollah members.
Iran has started a large-scale operation to inspect all devices, not just communication equipment that have been used in IRGC. Most of these devices were either homemade or imported from China and Russia.
Rinson Jose, 39, was the owner of a Bulgaria shell company that reportedly paid a British firm to obtain the pagers. So far, there is no indication that he was aware of the plot to detonate communication devices in Lebanon, which killed 39 people in two days.
Recent explosion of a pager in Lebanon sent shockwaves globally, leaving people wondering if their smartphones could also be used as explosives. Here's what the experts have to say.
On Thursday, Israel claimed to have destroyed over 1,000 Hezbollah rocket launchers in some of its most intense attacks on Lebanon. This came after an unprecedented attack believed to be carried out by Israel when communication devices used by Hezbollah exploded, killing over 30 people.
Lebanese authorities banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport. The move comes after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week, killing several and leaving numerous others injured.
The attacks on Hezbollah communications equipment sowed fear across Lebanon, with people abandoning electronic devices for fear of carrying bombs in their pockets.
According to several media reports, Israel had reserved the pager blasts as an opening blow to Hezbollah in case of an all-out war. However, these plans were accelerated when a couple of Hezbollah members became suspicious of the plot and raised the matter with their superiors.
After thousands of pagers across Lebanon exploded on Tuesday and killed 12 people, the country was rocked again when walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday. The incident has further stoked tensions between Israel and Hezbollah and raised the risks of an all-out war.
Hundreds of people were wounded in fresh blasts involving communication devices used by Lebanon's Hezbollah group, a security source said. Many of the wounds were to the stomach and hands, the source said.
The walkie-talkies which went off on Wednesday were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time that the pagers were bought. Images of the exploded walkie-talkies showed an inside panel labelled "ICOM" and "made in Japan."
Multiple explosions occurred Wednesday at the site of a funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before. Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported explosions in multiple areas of Lebanon, which it said were the result of walkie-talkies detonating.
Health Minister Firas Abiad said that two-thirds of the wounded needed hospitalization, adding that the scale of the incident was far greater than the thousands wounded in the massive Beirut Port explosion in 2020.
Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday it attacked Israeli artillery positions with rockets in the first cross-border attack since the Tuesday pager blasts.
At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 were injured after thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah militant group exploded on Tuesday. Hezbollah has promised "fair punishment" for Israel and said it was the "biggest security breach" the country has seen in years.
A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo months before the Tuesday explosions. Images of destroyed pagers showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo.
Around 3,000 of the pagers used in Lebanon exploded when Israel reportedly sent a "cryptic message", killing nine people and wounding thousands. This could be one of the most advanced warfare against Hezbollah, which has sworn punishment against Israel.
Pager displays brief text messages for users, which are sent by a central operator through telephone. Unlike mobile phones, pagers use radio waves for communication. The operator sends messages using radio frequency unique to the recipient's device, rather than the internet.
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