Could pager explosions be an escalation of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah?

More than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah militants, were injured on Tuesday in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon after wireless communication devices, known as pagers, exploded.

The state-run National News Agency described the incident as an "unprecedented security breach" but provided no further details. Local media reports suggested that the explosions resulted from an Israeli breach of the communication system.

The explosions came barely a few hours after Israel declared that halting Hezbollah's attacks in the country's north to allow residents to return to their homes has become an official war goal.

Israeli officials have repeatedly threatened to take stronger military action to stop the near-daily attacks, which began shortly after the country's nearly year-long war in Gaza started in October last year.

Israel has frequently launched air strikes on Lebanon, targeting and killing senior Hezbollah members. Tuesday's statement by Israel's security cabinet signalled a tougher stance, as Israeli leaders escalated their warnings.

Could the pager explosions, which have dealt a heavy blow to Hezbollah in Lebanon, be an extension of Israeli attacks on the group?

While Israel has yet to confirm or deny involvement in the pager explosions, it has previously carried out cross-border cyberattacks.

Israel has been linked to several notable cyberattacks targeting other nations, primarily through its cybersecurity companies and intelligence agencies.

One of the most prominent examples involves using Pegasus spyware by Israel's NSO Group.

The Pegasus Project has been used globally to hack into the phones of activists, journalists and political leaders, a collaborative investigation by multiple news organisations has found.

Despite the company's claims that the software was designed for counter-terrorism purposes, investigations showed its use in surveillance across 11 countries, including Saudi Arabia, India, Mexico and also against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

In addition, Israel's intelligence services are believed to have been involved in more direct cyber operations.

One of the most prominent examples includes Stuxnet, a joint operation by Israel and the US around 2010 that targeted Iran's nuclear facilities. The Stuxnet worm, a sophisticated malware, sabotaged Iran's uranium enrichment programme, significantly hindering its nuclear ambitions.

This attack is often regarded as the first known use of a cyber weapon to cause physical destruction. These are just a few publically known examples to demonstrate how Israel's advanced cyber capabilities have played key roles in state-led espionage, surveillance and sabotage, affecting countries across the globe.

Earlier this year, Lebanon announced plans to file an "urgent complaint" with the UN Security Council regarding Israel's disruption of the country's civil navigation systems.

In a statement, Lebanon's Foreign Ministry urged Security Council members to condemn Israeli cyberattacks and hold Tel Aviv responsible for any incidents that may result from its actions. The ministry also warned that Israel's interference with navigation systems threatens aviation safety in Lebanese airspace.