Hezbollah in crisis: Exploding pagers trigger deadly chaos in Lebanon

The chaos and confusion following the explosions have rattled the group to its core, with hundreds of its members injured and its communication network compromised

Muslim Network TV

BEIRUT, Lebanon (MNTV) – A series of devastating explosions involving Hezbollah’s communication devices has left at least nine people dead and over 2,800 injured across Lebanon.

The blasts, which occurred primarily in Beirut’s southern suburbs, have thrown the region into a state of turmoil, raising questions about the resilience of Hezbollah’s once impenetrable security apparatus.

Lebanon’s Health Minister Firass Abiad confirmed the death toll. The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was also reported to be among the injured.

Hezbollah’s leadership, initially caught off guard by the event, was quick to issue a statement confirming the explosions, though it stopped short of directly attributing the incident to any specific adversary, including Israel.

Despite the group’s silence on who may be responsible, speculation is rife that the explosions were part of a sophisticated cyberattack.

Sources within Hezbollah and local security agencies have pointed to malware as the likely culprit, suggesting that the pagers used by Hezbollah’s fighters were remotely tampered with, causing them to overheat and explode.

However, Hezbollah’s enemies in the region, particularly Israel, have remained silent about the attack, fueling suspicions.

The explosions, which reportedly targeted multiple Hezbollah units, have devastated key areas in southern Beirut and other regions in Lebanon.

Among the victims were a 10-year-old girl and the son of a Hezbollah member of parliament, both tragic symbols of how deeply the blasts have affected the community.

Hospitals in Beirut and across southern Lebanon were quickly overwhelmed by the number of casualties.

Medical staff at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital were forced to set up emergency beds outside to handle the influx of injured individuals. Footage from the scene showed bloodied victims being rushed into hospitals, with frantic calls for urgent blood donations resonating across the city.

Witnesses in southern Beirut described the scene as one of chaos and confusion.

Ambulances rushed through the crowded streets, and explosions reportedly continued even 30 minutes after the initial blasts.

-New shipment of pagers

A Hezbollah official, speaking to the Wall Street Journal, confirmed that hundreds of fighters possessed these pager devices and that the number of casualties was rising rapidly, with the situation still very much in flux.

The new shipment of pagers, which Hezbollah had received only days before, was thought to be secure and reliable.

However, the devices, far from being the trusted communication tools become a deadly weapon.

The pagers, according to these sources, were vulnerable to a form of cyber infiltration that allowed them to be detonated remotely, possibly via a phone call that activated malware.

While no group has claimed responsibility for the blasts, multiple reports suggest that Israel, long locked in a proxy war with Hezbollah, could be behind the attack. Some Lebanese security officials, quoted by Al-Hadath, speculated that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) might have hacked into Hezbollah’s communication system to remotely detonate the devices.

Advanced technology, likely used to infiltrate and compromise the pagers, may have been the key to the operation.

This type of cyberattack, represents a new frontier in the ongoing conflict between Hezbollah and Israel. The two sides have been engaged in a prolonged confrontation, with Hezbollah gaining significant military capabilities over the years.

However, this incident has exposed vulnerabilities that the group may have underestimated.

Iranian and Syrian media outlets reported that several Hezbollah members wounded in the blasts were transported to hospitals in Syria, highlighting the widespread reach of the damage.

For Hezbollah, the explosions represent not only a substantial loss of life but also a serious breach of operational security.

A senior Hezbollah official told the media outlets that it was “biggest security breach” the organization had faced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel. The group, which prides itself on its tight-knit, disciplined structure, is now grappling with a crisis that threatens to undermine its image of invulnerability.

In addition to the human toll, the blasts have also forced Hezbollah to reevaluate its communications infrastructure.

According to reports from the Wall Street Journal, the group had relied on pagers as a secure means of communication, believing that they were less vulnerable to hacking compared to modern mobile devices.

However, the recent incident has cast doubt on this assumption, and Hezbollah now faces the daunting task of overhauling its communication systems.

The group’s use of pagers, a device largely thought to have been replaced by more modern technology, was seen as an anachronism by many.

-Simple device

Originally developed in the 1940s, the pager allowed its users to receive short messages through radio frequencies, making it a reliable tool for professionals like doctors and emergency workers who needed constant access to communication.

However, the same simplicity that made pagers so effective has now become a vulnerability in the face of advanced cyberattacks.

As news of the blasts spread, panic took hold across Beirut and southern Lebanon. Videos and images circulating on social media showed horrific scenes of men in their forties wounded in the hands and faces by the exploding devices.

In some cases, the videos captured the exact moment when a pager exploded, injuring its user. Hospitals were soon flooded with men missing parts of their hands or suffering severe injuries to their legs, stomachs, or faces.

Hezbollah-affiliated journalist Hossein Mortada took to social media, urging the public not to share videos or images of the wounded, attempting to control the narrative in the aftermath of the explosions.

However, the scale of the incident made such efforts futile, as images of the injured spread rapidly online.

Hezbollah, which views itself as an elite military force capable of taking on the Israeli Defense Forces, now faces a crisis of confidence within its own ranks. The loss of key personnel, combined with the embarrassing failure of its communication system, threatens to weaken the group’s standing in Lebanon.

While the group is still capable of replacing its wounded fighters, the damage to its reputation may prove more difficult to repair.

Hezbollah’s latest challenge comes amid a broader confrontation with Israel, which has seen both sides engaged in a war of attrition.

In recent months, Hezbollah has lost over 450 fighters in its ongoing battles with Israel. Though the group has proven resilient in the past, the recent cyberattack has exposed vulnerabilities that could be exploited in future conflicts.

The group, which has built up an extensive arsenal of rockets, drones, and other military equipment, has relied heavily on its communication infrastructure to coordinate attacks and mobilize its fighters. The loss of this critical capability, even temporarily, could have far-reaching consequences for its ability to continue its operations.

Lebanon, meanwhile, is left grappling with the aftermath of yet another disaster. The country’s fragile government, already dealing with the aftermath of the Beirut port explosion and a crippling economic crisis, has condemned the incident, accusing Israel of aggression.

-Hezbollah credibility at stake

As investigations continue, Hezbollah’s leadership will have to confront the uncomfortable reality that its security was not as airtight as once believed.

Experts say the detonation of pagers may seem like a minor event in the broader context of the Hezbollah-Israel conflict, but it represents a significant escalation in the use of cyber warfare in the region.

As Hezbollah scrambles to repair the damage, the group will also need to rethink its future strategy in an increasingly hostile and technologically advanced battlefield.

Observers say Hezbollah’s reputation as a formidable military force is now under threat.

The chaos and confusion following the explosions have rattled the group to its core, with hundreds of its members injured and its communication network compromised. Whether Hezbollah can recover from this blow and restore its standing in Lebanon remains to be seen.

What is certain, however, is that the group faces a new kind of warfare, one that is fought not with missiles and rockets but with the invisible hand of cyberattacks.

In this battle, Hezbollah has been caught off guard, and it will take all of its resources to adapt and survive in a rapidly changing landscape.

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