Beirut - An Airport Where Departing Passengers Cannot Carry What We All Carry on Departing Flights

Beirut - An Airport Where Departing Passengers Cannot Carry What We All Carry on Departing Flights

Electronic Devices that are Open to External Signals Like Cell Phones and Pagers

“The center of gravity is moving north, meaning that we are allocating forces, resources and energy for the northern arena… We are at the start of a new phase in the war.” 

Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, September 18th in an address to troops at an air base in northern Israel following a coordinated set of blasts from walkie talkies, pagers and cell phones with hidden explosives.

Over several days in mid-September, dozens were killed and thousands wounded in Hezbollah-controlled southern Lebanon as their personal communications devices each exploded, in sequential simultaneous actions. Even three to five grams of RDX, PETN or DetaSheet, very powerful plastic explosives and the likely culprits, can produce a devastating blast, able to injure or kill anyone touching or near a device where such lethal material was contained. If a portable device is subject to receiving external radio waves, a simple malware adjustment to the device’s software, the ability to trigger a violent explosion is easy. The devices – from walkie talkies to pagers and cell phones – used to hold explosive material, almost certainly planted by Israel to take out Hezbollah operatives – were mostly originally manufactured years ago, outsourced or “adjusted” by intervening manufacturers, most probably based in Hungary.

Japanese and Taiwanese companies, that are the normal manufacturers and suppliers of such devices, disavowed that the devices used were infected directly supplied by them. “The pagers were from a shipment of 3,000 that Hezbollah says they ordered from Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company. But Gold Apollo says they were actually made by BAC Consulting, a company based in Hungary, and that the Taiwanese firm merely licensed its design and trademark.” Vox.com, September 18th.

Apparently, Gold Apollo authorized “BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in specific regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are entirely handled by BAC,” per a statement released by them. Formed in 2022, BAC seemed at the heart of it all. CEO and sole listed owner Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono told NBC that she knew nothing about the explosions. “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong," she said.

Stories of innocents, like the death of a little girl carrying a buzzing pager to her father, are everywhere. Lots of Hezbollah soldiers were also injured or killed. Hezbollah had switched to pagers when they realized that Israel was using GPS from cell phones to track and kill Hezbollah leaders. It was bad enough when we face Lithium-Ion battery fires from ordinary components… but now they are being laced with high explosives that are intended to kill or maim. Israel was used to winning against these extremists and their sponsor, Iran, but is now beginning to face a leveling playing field where its military victories are not so simply achievable… as Gaza reflects.

Israel has faced various levels of missile and artillery strikes from Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon over the years, resulting in an intolerable and escalating conflict between Israel’s IDF and Hezbollah. In the fall of 2023, Hezbollah mounted massive barrage against northern Israel in sympathy with Gaza… and of course, the IDF retaliated. But this time, Israel did not simply “win.” As Hezbollah forces pushed IDF back, the situation stalemated, which reflected the status until the pager attack.

Now, retaliation is on the books; the US intelligence agencies, the Departments of State and Defense are warning of the rising probability of a full-on regional war. As the above quote suggests, Israel is obviously refocusing on Hezbollah in Lebanon as its efforts in Gaza have been far less than Israel leaders predicted. Hostages remain in peril with no viable endgame planned.

The uber-miscreant, Iran, has upped its game and technology. As its ties with Russia deepen, so has Iran’s expertise in manufacturing increasingly state-of-the-art high-speed missiles and artillery shells, with increasing targeting accuracy. And Iran has supplied Hezbollah with thousands of missiles, including a sizeable contingent of those new and very effective missiles.

With Israel’s recent executions of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, directly inside Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, Iran has also pledged a major retaliation against Israel. Things could go south very fast for all concerned, but the big worry is that this become a full-on regional war, where the US is seen as an active party for supplying Israel with a substantial portion of its military equipment and munition base, including essentials for Israel’s famous “iron dome” missile defense system.

“Even before the hundreds of widely dispersed [page and walkie talkie] detonations, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told other senior Pentagon officials in a [recent] meeting that he feared Israel could soon launch an offensive, after months of back-and-forth rocket and air attacks with Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed militia group that controls much of southern Lebanon.

“U.S. alarm about a possible invasion has intensified since the brazen attacks in Lebanon. ‘I am very concerned about this spiraling out of control,’ a senior defense official said, echoing comments since Tuesday by other Pentagon aides… Israel’s military moved a division of commando and paratrooper soldiers to the north in recent days from the southern part of the country, after it had operated for months in Gaza, according to a person familiar with the matter. The division consists of thousands of soldiers.” The Wall Street Journal, September 19th.

Having lived in Lebanon, as the teenaged stepson of a US diplomat stationed at the US Embassy in Beirut, I see and feel pain from both sides. There was a time when local Lebanese wanted normalized relations with Israel… but times have changed. After the years of civil war, most of Lebanon seemed anxious to restore normalcy. Restaurants reopened, music poured from rooftop clubs, beaches reopened… but Iran, Syria and regional extremists had other ideas. So many talented and educated Lebanese have left, and even the prized American University of Beirut (with its most excellent medical school and hospital) is facing an uncertain future. The people are mostly ready for peace, but outsiders – mostly centered on Iran – have returned Lebanon to a strife-torn nation.

Lebanon’s form of government – “confessionalism,” where designated religious sects are granted exclusive and sacrosanct roles in government even with free elections – keeps the same-old/same-old families (from those sects) in rotational shifts in top governmental roles. If change is necessary, this familial rotation guarantees that it won’t happen. Corruption and massive outside interference have a safe haven in this beautiful land. Iran and Syria are most aware.

I’m Peter Dekom, and American missteps in the region – empowering Shiite controlled Iran by helping it grow in places like Shiite Iraq (we eliminated Sunni control) – have created a monster that grows stronger every day.