How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse: Exploding Pagers (www.nytimes.com)

submitted 22 hours ago by breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca to c/world@lemmy.world

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The Israeli government did not tamper with the Hezbollah devices that exploded, defense and intelligence officials say. It manufactured them as part of an elaborate ruse.

In Lebanon, as Israel picked off senior Hezbollah commandos with targeted assassinations, their leader came to a conclusion: If Israel was going high-tech, Hezbollah would go low. It was clear, a distressed Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, said, that Israel was using cellphone networks to pinpoint the locations of his operatives.

. . .

Israeli intelligence officials saw an opportunity.

Even before Mr. Nasrallah decided to expand pager usage, Israel had put into motion a plan to establish a shell company that would pose as an international pager producer.

By all appearances, B.A.C. Consulting was a Hungary-based company that was under contract to produce the devices on behalf of a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. In fact, it was part of an Israeli front, according to three intelligence officers briefed on the operation. They said at least two other shell companies were created as well to mask the real identities of the people creating the pagers: Israeli intelligence officers.

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[-] mlg@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

You know the more that I think about it, the more I realize that if the CIA or NSA were tasked with eliminating Hezbollah using the same vulnerability, they probably would have set up the same shell company, but install a hardware wire backdoor into every device which would let them do insane espionage or setup widespread jamming or even fake intel, complelty remotely too.

They already have so many systems that do similar things, it wouldn't even be that difficult for them to pull off and cause Hezbollah to disintegrate by having them run around falling into easily laid traps.

But of course this is Israel, so they went with explosives to maximize that sweet civilian collateral like they're trying to top the bang for buck warcrime leaderboard.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 1 points 31 minutes ago

I'm left wondering how they were triggered. Were they all just set on a timer? Or were they able to somehow remotely send a signal? And if they were able to send a signal, were they also able to intercept messages?

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 66 points 20 hours ago

In Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, in the village of Saraain, one young girl, Fatima Abdullah, had just come home from her first day of fourth grade when she heard her father’s pager begin to beep, her aunt said. She picked up the device to bring it to him and was holding it when it exploded, killing her. Fatima was 9.

And

By the end of the day, at least a dozen people were dead and more than 2,700 were wounded, many of them maimed. And the following day, 20 more people were killed and hundreds wounded when walkie-talkies in Lebanon also began mysteriously exploding. Some of the dead and wounded were Hezbollah members, but others were not; four of the dead were children.

Both are war crimes, and while Israel hasn't formally declared war. Their defense minister is calling this a war.

But you can't use indiscriminate attacks, and you can't aim for maiming instead of killing.

Shit like this just makes more terrorists, which at this point is pretty obvious is Israels goal. They do t want to "win a war" they want to create a permanent boogey man so Israels current unpopular leaders get to hold.o to power a little longer.

Bibi and his people will keep doing this shit, because it's the only way they keep power.

They want war and chaos

[+] chakan2@lemmy.world -28 points 15 hours ago

They eliminated 2800 terrorists and only killed 20 civilians. That's the most successful attack on an entrenched gorilla force in the history of humanity.

Hezbollah and Hamas love to use civilians, children, and humanitarian aid as shields. Committing war crimes to stop the people committing war crimes is an odd argument.

This was a much more humane attack than firing RPGs from a hospital for example.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 28 points 15 hours ago

They eliminated 2800 terrorists

Israel said they're terrorists...

They also called American citizens who protest the American government providing arms for a genocide terrorists...

Would you be ok with them blowing up US college students for using the first amendment?

[+] chakan2@lemmy.world -23 points 15 hours ago

It's more like can we pick off those 2 or 3 people in that crowd of protesters that are about to do serious harm? If so...yea...do it.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 25 points 15 hours ago

But we don't know if they did...

IDF claims it only hit targets, which we know isn't true, and people standing next to them were blown up too

I just don't understand why anyone would just take the IDFs word, they lie constantly

[+] wick@lemm.ee -12 points 14 hours ago

Ideally you don't take their word, you send journalists and international investigators to the scene to verify.

What you definitely do not do however is take Hezbollah's word.

[-] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 7 points 9 hours ago

The same journalists and international investigators that Israel has been blatantly murdering left and right?

[-] Maeve@kbin.earth 9 points 9 hours ago

They kill journalists and investigators too.

[-] givesomefucks@lemmy.world 11 points 14 hours ago

Ideally you don’t take their word, you send journalists and international investigators to the scene to verify.

Which has happened and they have shown that obviously if someone blows up while walking down the street, the explosion doesn't magically know not to injure anyone else

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 33 points 20 hours ago

Israel is a state sponsor of terror and should be condemned as such.

[-] Doorbook@lemmy.world 8 points 18 hours ago

They should be sanctioned.

[+] AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space -19 points 15 hours ago

Everyone targeted was a member of an internationally recognised terrorist organisation, and there was no reason for non-members to ever have the pagers. There are questions about rules of engagement, but one thing this operation wasn’t technically is terrorism.

[-] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 15 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

These devices exploded in public places without regard for collateral damage to civilians. It is yet another war crime by Israel in addition to being an act of terror.

Also it's just not true that everyone was a member of Hezbollah. These devices are used by medical staff in hospitals. Israel has form in targeting doctors and hospitals.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 2 points 13 hours ago

I'm not defending it, but how is this different than targeted strikes with gps guided weapons, including the katanabomb? That also has collateral damage.

One can suggest the west is engaged in terrorism in that way too, and I personally believe such strikes only create more terrorists.

But clearly most of the global community agrees with certain targeted strikes on terrorists. This is just a particular flavor of it, and is another shitty feature of the modern "war on terror".

Another comment said that this is just going to further the violence for another decade (among the other shit Israel is up to) and I agree that the conflict IS the point.

It fucking sucks.

[-] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

People are pretty universal in their condemnation of American attacks that kill civilians, that's why we see the names of those people less, Trump made that change. Biden rolled back those changes finally, but you're not gonna believe some of the new rules, stuff like stop fucking drone striking civilians you sociopaths: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/us/biden-drone-strikes.html

So yeah, America is both complicit in and has been (maybe still is) a sponsor of terror in many situations. And if one of those people affected by America in that way were to somehow get a bunch of cell phone bombs on GI's hips while they were out with their families, to those people it might be justified while I would still call it terrorism.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 1 points 6 hours ago

The point is half the planet "accepts" drone strikes of terrorists, on the justification that those terrorists are "conducting war" where ever they are.

Note I am not holding this opinion, I'm describing it.

I would assume Israel is riding along the same idea.

Again, not my idea.

[-] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

I get what you're saying, but my point is it's not really accepted. It's actually an incredibly controversial process that has recently been updated in the US to include not targeting civilians specifically.

Totally respect it's not your idea, I'm just pointing out that I think it's much more complicated when you involve civilian collateral damage, which is actually terrorism in a mask with an overcoat.

[-] GBU_28@lemm.ee 1 points 5 hours ago

Yes agree. It's just that in some shape or form, western countries have been hunting terrorists and accepting (an amount) of collateral damage, for decades. It's seen as "warfare". I think we can assume Israel, in this case, thinks it's aligned with global norms with the beeper method.

I think it's a whole lot grayer than that

[-] AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.world 1 points 3 hours ago

I feel you, it's for sure gray.

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 6 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

Did you ask Fatima, the 10 year old girl killed in the explosions, if it was terrorism? Or would you just tell her she should not have had that pager? Fucken heartless statement right here.

[-] chakan2@lemmy.world -4 points 10 hours ago

Did you ask the 1000 or so civilians that were raped and murdered for start this round of aggression of they're ok with being raped and murdered?

[-] Sanctus@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago

Confusing Hezbollah and Hamas?

[-] SmilingSolaris@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago

You cannot target with an explosive detonated at random. Lemme detonate a bomb next to your kid on a bus and see how you fucking feel when I tell you he was collateral and untargetted. See if that makes you feel better.

[-] AshMan85@lemmy.world 26 points 20 hours ago

New title: "How Isreal commit acts of terrorism"

[-] Iceblade02@lemmy.world -3 points 11 hours ago

Probably amongst the most impressive and precisely targeted strikes against a terror organization in history when taking the scale into consideration. Mossad is one of the most inventive intelligence agencies out there. They do not mess around.

If it is enough to dissuade Hezbollah escalating to an all out war in Lebanon, the few tragic collaterals pale in comparison to the number of prevented deaths.

[-] MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world 3 points 10 hours ago

It reminds me vaguely of Operation Trojan Shield, except with explosions.

this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2024

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