SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – In Lebanon, pager technology that was more popular in the 1990s than today has been the centerpiece of attacks that have a rising death and casualty toll. These attacks could lead to more violence in the already war-torn Middle East.
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“It’s an escalation of horror is probably the best way I could describe it,” said Brendan Kearney, retired U.S. Marine Colonel and former chief of Staff for the U.S. Marine Forces in Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East, when asked about what we can expect next in an interview with KCBS Radio. “I think Hezbollah is more than capable of escalating war with, of course, Iran in the background, writing the checks and providing the equipment.”
Let’s backtrack a bit.
According to the Associated Press, Hezbollah said in a statement that pagers used by people working for the group’s institutions began exploding “mysteriously,” Tuesday afternoon, local time, in Lebanon and parts of Syria. The terrorist organization said at the time the explosions killed an estimated eight people, including a young girl, and wounded more people. It announced that it had launched an investigation into the blasts.
Officials pointed the finger at Israel. Since last October, Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas have been embroiled in a war kicked off by Hamas’ large-scale terrorist attack at an Israeli music festival. Israel also faces other threats, including the Houthi terrorist group that reportedly fired a missle at Israel this weekend. Along with Hamas and Hezbollah, the Houthis are part of what the Council on Foreign relations called “Iran’s so-called axis of resistance.”
“A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded, killing at least two of its members and wounding others,” said the outlet.
Pagers, also known as beepers, are a type of handheld device that were popular in the 1990s – “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” title character Buffy Summers is known for her line “if the apocalypse comes, beep me” – but they largely became obsolete as cell phones became more ubiquitous. Kearney explained why there were so many of the outdated devices in Lebanon.
“Israeli intelligence has used cell phones as a targeting device for a number of years now, so Hezbollah and Hamas and other terrorist organizations around the world have pretty much ditched routine use of cell phones,” he said.
It looks as though this vulnerability was identified and those who planned the attack were able to penetrate the supply chain, Kearney added.
“You know, saddened over the loss of life. That’s never good – and the innocents that are injured – never good,” he said. “But it is a brilliant use of intelligence, penetrating a supply chain and getting these pagers to the enemies of Israel. It is… it’s amazing. I’m scratching my head as to the creativity.”
When asked about the pager attacks Tuesday, Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the U.S. was monitoring the situation but did not have any information to provide. He said that the U.S. believes the best way to reduce tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border is through diplomacy and that it was not involved in the attacks.
“I think the concerns are that the tensions in the region could spiral into a wider war,” said Ryder. “And of course, that involves all parties, you know, so. So, as we see Israel continue to be threatened by groups like Lebanese Hezbollah, as we highlighted in that readout, the secretary believes that — that Israel needs to allow time for the negotiations and the public diplomacy — excuse me, diplomacy to work in order to ease those tensions.”
On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that more explosions went off in Lebanon at the site of a funeral for three Hezbollah members and a child killed by exploding pagers the day before. By the time of those explosions, Tuesday’s death toll reached 12 and its injured toll reached 2,800.
“Lebanon’s health ministry says at least nine people were killed and 300 were wounded,” during the Wednesday attack, said the AP, citing numbers also shared by Lebanon’s national news agency. It also said a Hezbollah official revealed that walkie-talkies used by the group exploded as part of blasts in Beirut.
There were also other reports of unspecified exploding devices in the town of Sohmor in the Beqaa valley on Wednesday and that energy systems exploded in homes in several areas, injuring a girl, the AP said.
Following the attacks, the United Nations and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed frustration about increased violence in the region. Blinken said it threatens progress on a ceasefire deal in Gaza, per the AP.
“Widespread simultaneous explosions across Lebanon and in Syria yesterday, where detonating pagers killed at least 12 people – including two children – and left thousands of people injured, are shocking, and their impact on civilians unacceptable. The fear and terror unleashed is profound,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in a Wednesday press release.
He urged all parties with influence in the region to take measures to de-escalate conflicts. Additionally, Türk said: “Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” and called for an independent investigation.
While Blinken and Türk call for de-escalation, Kearney shared a particular concern about Hezbollah in the wake of the pager attacks.
“Hezbollah has been very, very… and this is a crazy word to use… but very, very jealous of the success Hamas has gained in garnering support because of what's going on in Gaza,” he said. “So, I think we’re going to see increased attacks in the northern Israel. We’re going to see some more of these crazy and just awful... things and shootings that take place with clearly innocent people in Tel Aviv and throughout Israel. So that’s all going to pick up.”