26 September 2024

Have Hezbollah's Secret Communications Been Compromised?

Jordan King

Hezbollah's communication network may have been compromised in the recent pager and walkie-talkie attacks, experts said.

Pagers used by Hezbollah members exploded in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 12 people, including two young children, before walkie-talkies blew up on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding thousands.

Hezbollah believes both attacks were carried out by Israel, which is yet to make any official comment. Israel is suspected of infiltrating the supply chain of the devices.

But, while Hezbollah will be reeling from losing fighters to death and injury, the "psychological impact" of being intercepted will be "massive," national security and military analyst John Spencer said.

The veteran and current chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point told Newsweek: "There is always a way to bug, listen into something electronic. This is the significance of the operation.

"Hezbollah will have lost trust in all their equipment—'Will it blow up? Is Israel listening?' The psychological impact is massive. Especially since it wasn't just pagers. If it was Israel, they definitely sent a message."

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