In Pictures

Gallery|Gaza

The pager bombings – everyday tech that kills

Attacks against Hezbollah with booby-trapped pagers and two-way radios, blamed on Israel, are new in scale, not approach.

The pager bombings - everyday tech that kills
By Danylo Hawaleshka
Published On 20 Sep 2024

History Illustrated is a series of perspectives that puts news events and current affairs into historical context using graphics generated with artificial intelligence.

To look at it, an old piece of technology a bit bigger than a matchbox hardly seems dangerous, and yet hundreds of pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah, reportedly laced with the explosive PETN, have cost them a hand, an eye, even their lives.
To look at it, an old piece of technology a bit bigger than a matchbox hardly seems dangerous, and yet hundreds of pagers belonging to members of Hezbollah, reportedly laced with the explosive PETN, have cost them a hand, an eye, even their lives.
Advertisement
The armed group blames Israel for the attack in Lebanon and Syria on September 17, and for a second attack the next day using tampered two-way radios. And while Israel remained silent, it does have a history of using communication devices to kill its enemies.
The armed group blames Israel for the attack in Lebanon and Syria on September 17, and for a second attack the next day using tampered two-way radios. And while Israel remained silent, it does have a history of using communication devices to kill its enemies.
In 1972, Israel launched Operation Wrath of God, to avenge the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics by the Palestinian group Black September.
In 1972, Israel launched Operation Wrath of God, to avenge the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics by the Palestinian group Black September.
Later that year, Mossad agents broke into the Paris home of Mahmoud Hamshari, a PLO representative who they killed by planting a bomb in his telephone and remotely detonating it when he answered a call.
Later that year, Mossad agents broke into the Paris home of Mahmoud Hamshari, a PLO representative who they killed by planting a bomb in his telephone and remotely detonating it when he answered a call.
In 1996, the Israeli security agency Shin Bet was after Yahya Ayyash, a Hamas bombmaker known as the Engineer, so they planted explosives in a mobile flip phone.
In 1996, the Israeli security agency Shin Bet was after Yahya Ayyash, a Hamas bombmaker known as the Engineer, so they planted explosives in a mobile flip phone.
Ayyash was then tricked into accepting the phone. While he was on a call, an Israeli air force plane relayed the signal to a Shin Bet office, where an agent recognised his voice. The detonation killed Ayyash instantly.
Ayyash was then tricked into accepting the phone. While he was on a call, an Israeli air force plane relayed the signal to a Shin Bet office, where an agent recognised his voice. The detonation killed Ayyash instantly.
Advertisement
More would follow. Samih Malabi, an activist for the Palestinian group Fatah, was targeted in 2000, when a booby-trapped cellphone exploded next to his head.
More would follow. Samih Malabi, an activist for the Palestinian group Fatah, was targeted in 2000, when a booby-trapped cellphone exploded next to his head.
The Israeli army denied it was responsible for Malabi’s death, but to many observers the similarities to the way Ayyash was killed are undeniable.
The Israeli army denied it was responsible for Malabi’s death, but to many observers the similarities to the way Ayyash was killed are undeniable.
As with all these killings, the latest ones raise questions of legality. Some have called them targeted. Others, indiscriminate. Regardless of whether they were legal or not, the victims included children and bystanders, reinforcing just how brazen and devastating these attacks were.
As with all these killings, the latest ones raise questions of legality. Some have called them targeted. Others, indiscriminate. Regardless of whether they were legal, the victims included children and bystanders, reinforcing just how brazen and devastating these attacks were.