The Specter of Explosive “Pagers” Continues to Threaten Lebanon, Warns British Expert
A British demining expert has warned that thousands of pagers, carried by members of Hezbollah and Lebanese citizens, still contain explosives.
The warning came after a series of explosions targeting booby-trapped wireless communication devices on Tuesday and Wednesday, in an operation aimed at crippling Hezbollah’s command and control structure.
Part of the “unprecedented success” of these explosions – for which Israel has not officially claimed responsibility – lies in targeting devices using “old technology,” according to the British newspaper Daily Express.
Major Chris Hunter, a former British Army bomb disposal expert, stated, “The pager operation was unprecedented anywhere in the world – it’s one of the operations long dreamed of by the British Army’s Special Operations unit.”
Hunter noted that despite the tragic deaths of two children – one of whom is believed to have heard his father’s pager and was handing it to him when the explosion occurred – and the hundreds of victims reportedly partially blinded by shrapnel, the amount of explosives was designed to minimize collateral damage.
He explained, “Each device was supposed to be loaded with about 25 grams of plastic explosives, which normally only causes direct damage to the attacker in an open space, keeping the collateral damage rate very low.”
He added, “What people don’t realize is that any first-world intelligence agency can carry out such an operation. We can manipulate any electrical device and turn it into a bomb. We use this capability to reverse the operation and neutralize the threat.”
How is this type of operation carried out?
Hunter explained: “Once you know the supplier’s identity, it’s easy. You access the production facility by offering financial incentives or through blackmail, and then insert your technicians to introduce certain harmful components into the devices.”
He warned that every device on the production line could have been tampered with.
“Once the pager numbers are identified, you then choose which ones to target, while the others remain at the mercy of fate, meaning there are thousands of potentially explosive devices in Lebanon today,” he added.
Following Wednesday’s wireless device explosions, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant announced a “new phase” of the regional war, stating that the focus was shifting to the north, at the border with Lebanon.
In June, senior Israeli military officials told the Sunday Express that every effort would be made to ensure the return of more than 60,000 displaced Israelis to their homes in the north, after they were forced to evacuate due to Hezbollah’s rocket attacks.
