Did Israel work with US to booby-trap Lebanon's pagers, walkie-talkies?

First, pagers. Later, walkie-talkies.

A series of explosions on Tuesday and Wednesday rocked Lebanon, killing at least 26 people and wounding over 3,000, according to security and health officials.

A preliminary investigation into the Tuesday explosions found that hundreds of pagers had been booby-trapped, a security official said. While the probe is still “in its early stages,” a judicial official said, security services continue to investigate the blasts, which they blamed on Israel.

According to The New York Times, Israel conducted a covert operation targeting Hezbollah by concealing explosive material in Taiwanese-made pagers imported into Lebanon.

The operation, revealed by American and other officials familiar with the details, involved tampering with pagers ordered by Hezbollah from Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company.

Officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Times that most of the pagers in the shipment were the AR-924 model, though three other models from Gold Apollo were also included.

The explosives, reportedly weighing between one and two ounces, were discreetly placed next to each device’s battery. A remote trigger mechanism was embedded within the pagers, allowing the explosives to be detonated from a distance.

Likely sabotage

At 1230 GMT in Lebanon, the pagers received a message that appeared to come from Hezbollah’s leadership, but in reality, it activated the embedded explosives, according to two of the officials. The pagers reportedly beeped for several seconds before detonating.

"Data indicates the devices were pre-programmed to detonate and contained explosive materials planted next to the battery," a Lebanese official said.

The official added that the investigation is focusing on identifying the type of explosive materials used in the devices and tracing the shipment’s “country of origin and where they were booby-trapped.”

Some of the devices that exploded were being inspected, the security official said, but "most of them were destroyed and burned."

The official also noted it was unlikely that lithium batteries inside the devices had heated up and exploded. "Exploding lithium batteries cause a fire-like incident... that may cause minor burns, but the blast from these devices resulted from highly explosive materials," he said.

A source close to Hezbollah, speaking on condition of anonymity, said "the pagers that exploded concern a shipment recently imported by Hezbollah", which appeared to have been "sabotaged at the source".

Israel-US link

Israeli media has revealed what it described as "coordination" between Israel and the US on the explosions of wireless communication devices used by Hezbollah and medics in Lebanon, despite earlier denials from Washington.

Explosions of thousands of pager and Icom wireless devices in several areas of Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday resulted in the deaths of at least 26 people and injuries to more than 3,250.

According to KAN, the official Israeli broadcasting channel, there was coordination between Israel and the US concerning the explosions that rocked Lebanon.

The broadcaster reported that Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had two telephone conversations with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in the last 24 hours.

"The first call between Gallant and Austin took place on Tuesday, just minutes before the first wave of pager device explosions in Lebanon," said KAN. "The second call occurred before the second wave of explosions."

The US, however, has denied involvement in the explosions.

State-led espionage

The precise timeline of when the pagers were ordered and when they arrived in Lebanon remains unclear.

While Israel has yet to confirm or deny involvement in the pager explosions, it has a history of cross-border attacks — whether cyber in nature or sabotage.

One of the most prominent examples is Israel’s use of Pegasus spyware, developed by the NSO Group. The Pegasus Project, a collaborative investigation by multiple news organisations, revealed that the spyware has been used globally to hack into the phones of activists, journalists, and political leaders.

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 against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

Additionally, the Stuxnet worm, a sophisticated malware, sabotaged Iran’s uranium enrichment program, 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 publicly known examples that demonstrate how Israel’s advanced cyber capabilities have played key roles in state-led espionage, surveillance and sabotage, affecting countries worldwide.