2024-09-20 14:31:11
Six security sources said lebanonThe Hezbollah group gave its members new pager devices bearing the “Gold Apollo” brand on Friday, hours after thousands of them were detonated in attacks this week, suggesting that despite ongoing checks, But the Hezbollah group is confident in the security of these devices. Electronic devices used to detect threats.
One of the sources explained that “a member of the group received a new pager on Monday and it exploded the next day while it was still in the box,” while a second source said, ” A pager received by a senior member exploded a few days ago, injuring one of his subordinates.
Gold Apollo-branded devices exploded in southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Bekaa Valley on Tuesday in what appeared to be a coordinated attack.
Hundreds of walkie-talkie devices exploded on Wednesday, killing 37 people, including at least two children, and injuring more than 3,000 others.
“We were lied to”
During the investigation, a security source and an intelligence source said that the cause of the explosion was “the explosive load of these devices is higher than that of wireless communication equipment,” noting that the batteries of wireless communication equipment are filled with a substance called PETN. of highly explosive compounds, while stating that the organization was “still investigating where, when and how the explosives were placed in the device.”
“We were able to detect a lot of electronic problems, but the walkie-talkies didn’t, and they fooled us into paying tribute to the enemy,” one source said.
He added that “detecting explosives is very difficult with any device or scanner,” without specifying what type of scanner the equipment used by the group passed.
A security source said the inspections were part of a routine investigation into the group’s equipment, including communications gear, to look for any signs it had been contaminated by explosives or surveillance mechanisms.
Security sources said the group foiled an Israeli operation last year targeting equipment imported into Israel from abroad, ranging from Israel’s own landlines to office ventilation equipment.
On the other hand, the source noted that “beginning in 2022, Hezbollah inspected pagers after they arrived in Lebanon, including passing through airports with the pagers to ensure that they did not trigger alarms,” without specifying Airport name where tested.
Strengthen inspections
“Hezbollah suspects that more devices may have been hacked after the pager device exploded on Tuesday,” two security sources and an intelligence source said.
In return, the group stepped up scanning operations of its communications systems and scrutinized all equipment, the two sources added. It also began inspecting the supply chain but did not complete it until the intercoms started ringing on Wednesday afternoon.
One of the sources said the party “believes Israel chose to detonate the devices out of fear that Hezbollah would discover they were booby-trapped”.
A U.S. intelligence official said Israel was involved in the creation of the explosive pagers, noting that the operation had been in preparation for 15 years.
Sources said the plan for the attack included setting up a fake company, as well as multiple layers of Israeli intelligence officials and their agents, to serve as a front for a company that produces pager devices.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that the device explosion killed 25 people and injured at least 650 people. The death toll was much higher than the 12 people killed and about 3,000 injured in the explosion the previous day.
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