The WSJ quoted regional security analyst Michael Horowitz as suggesting the attack was likely caused by either 1) malware triggering the batteries to overheat/explode or 2) an actual explosive charge inserted in the devices at some point in the supply chain and then detonated remotely.
“Either way, this is a very sophisticated attack,” Horowitz told the WSJ. “Particularly if this is a physical breach, as this would mean Israel has access to the producer of those devices. This may be part of the message being sent here.”
Late in the day, US and other officials anonymously told the New York Times that the attack was, in fact, caused by explosives. Israel managed to insert “as little as one or two ounces” of explosive material next to the battery inside each pager, officials said. The pagers themselves were said to come from a company called Gold Apollo in Taiwan, though where and how the tampering was done both remain unclear.
Reuters has a similar report, using different sources, but it also notes that the president of Gold Apollo emphatically claimed today that the pagers were not made by his company in Taiwan. Rather, he said, they were made under license by a company called BAC, which then put Gold Apollo’s branding on them.
Hezbollah officials are also publicly blaming Israel, which has not taken responsibility, though it has been able to perform surprising electronic strikes, including the Stuxnet malware that damaged Iran’s nuclear program.
The Associated Press noted that Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon was also injured in the widespread attack.
The attacks follow shortly after an Israeli claim that Hezbollah had targeted one of its former senior defense officials—but that Israel had foiled the plan. According to Reuters, Israel “said it had seized an explosive device attached to a remote detonation system, using a mobile phone and a camera that Hezbollah had planned to operate from Lebanon.”
In today’s US State Department briefing, which you can watch here, spokesperson Matthew Miller was asked about the pager attacks. “The US was not involved in it,” he said. “The US was not aware of this incident in advance.” He said the US government is currently gathering more information on what happened.
This breaking news story has been rewritten to incorporate updates added throughout the day.
