The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) are believed to have conducted cyber and electronic warfare operations to target Hezbollah communications, including the explosion of pagers.
While exact details are classified, several key techniques and strategies could have been employed:
1. ELECTRONIC WARFARE AND SIGNALS JAMMING
The IDF has sophisticated electronic warfare capabilities that could have interfered with or overwhelmed Hezbollah’s communication devices, such as pagers. By sending a specially crafted signal or jamming communication frequencies, the IDF could have overloaded the circuitry of pagers, causing them to malfunction or even explode.
2. MALWARE OR REMOTE EXPLOITS
Israel is known to have advanced cyberwarfare units, like Unit 8200, which could have deployed malware or hacking techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in Hezbollah’s communication systems. If Hezbollah's pagers were connected to a network, an exploit could have been used to remotely manipulate the devices, possibly even causing physical damage.
3. PHYSICAL MODIFICATIONS OR TROJAN DEVICES
There’s also the possibility that some of Hezbollah’s pagers were physically modified to explode when certain signals were received. Such modifications could have been done covertly before the pagers were distributed to Hezbollah members, either by intercepting their supply chain or by using undercover operatives.
4. DIRECTED ENERGY WEAPONS (DEWS)
Though less likely, Israel might have used directed energy weapons to target electronic devices like pagers. These weapons can disable or destroy electronics by sending out bursts of electromagnetic energy, which can overload or destroy circuits.
While the exact method remains unconfirmed, Israel's cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, combined with intelligence efforts, likely played a critical role in compromising Hezbollah's communications.