September 19, 2024 | 08.12
READING TIME: 2 minutes
The pagers that exploded in Lebanon were manufactured by Israel, the New York Times reported, citing three Israeli intelligence officials briefed on the operation, who told the newspaper that at least two other shell companies were created to hide that the pager manufacturers were under the control of the Israeli secret service. The Bac Consulting, the Hungarian company that produced the pagers that exploded in Lebanon, was an Israeli shell company.
According to the report, the pagers began being shipped to Lebanon in 2022, but the supply increased when Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared the use of cell phones dangerous.
The New York Times also reported that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has for years recommended that the Islamist group use pagers instead of phones to communicate. The report said U.S. intelligence estimates that Nasrallah believes this is a more secure form of communication because pagers do not reveal the user’s location.
The leader of the Party of God was also concerned about messages he received from anonymous allies, according to which Israel had improved its capabilities to hack phones, US intelligence officials told the newspaper. For this reason, Nasrallah reportedly banned the use of cell phones during Hezbollah meetings and ordered that the terrorist group’s plans never be communicated over the phone, even via encrypted messaging apps.
Japanese Company: ‘Exploded Walkie-Talkies Recalled 10 Years Ago’
Japanese company Icom, meanwhile, says it stopped producing the walkie-talkie model allegedly used in the recent explosions in Lebanon about 10 years ago. “The IC-V82 is a portable radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago and has not been shipped by our company since,” Icom said in a statement.
A new wave of explosions rocked Lebanon yesterday afternoon, mostly involving walkie-talkies used by members of Hezbollah, a day after thousands of people were injured when their pagers went off in a coordinated attack that has been widely blamed on Israel following months of cross-border fighting.
According to Israeli media reports, several people were injured in an anti-tank missile attack in northern Israel, in an area near Menara, in the Upper Galilee. At least two anti-tank missiles were reportedly launched from southern Lebanon.
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