# Exploding Pagers in Lebanon {2024-09-17} **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395 "2024-09-17T18:27:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/121 "2024-09-18T15:30:28Z")
XD XD XD No, I am not Hezbollah - I was simply trying to express what an average Hezbollah member was possibly thinking right now 🙂 I should have put that text between quotes I guess! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/122 "2024-09-18T15:42:36Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Second round, this time two-way radios exploded. You would have thought that Hezbollah immediately checked _all_ of their electronic equipment after yesterday’s blast. They sure are much dumber as an organisation than Mossad. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/123 "2024-09-18T15:46:10Z")
While I’m sure someone is delighted at the success of these attacks, it feels to me rather like kicking a wasp nest. Sure, you damage a lot of wasps, but it escalates whatever issues you had with the nest, and it’s generally a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/124 "2024-09-18T15:48:35Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > You would have thought that Hezbollah immediately checked _all_ of their electronic equipment after yesterday’s blast. They sure are much dumber as an organisation than Mossad. A) Checking all cell phones would be quite a task. Doubtless the top leadership had their electronics checked but as you go down the line the more things there are to check and that would take a while. B) I have read that Hezbollah is a very savvy organization and a serious threat to Israel. They even have special forces which may not be the best in the world but are considered competent. They are a much bigger threat to Israel than Hamas is. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/125 "2024-09-18T15:52:21Z")
Hezbollah has been firing dozens of rockets into Israel every day since last October. Civilians have been killed, buildings have been destroyed and towns have been abandoned. My sister, who lives in the north, has been a refugee for 11 months. We’re way past that stage. The hornets have been swarming for a long time already. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/126 "2024-09-18T15:53:49Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > it feels to me rather like kicking a wasp nest. Sure, you damage a lot of wasps, but it escalates whatever issues you had with the nest, and it’s generally a bad idea. It’s a bad idea because it’s likely to cause wasps who were leaving you alone to attack you. If the wasps are already attacking you, trying not to annoy them ceases to be an issue. (Whether this particular technique in this particular case is a good one, I don’t know. But if it isn’t, I don’t think that’s why.) ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/127 "2024-09-18T15:56:01Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Whether this particular technique in this particular case is a good one, I don’t know. Yeah, i don’t know, either. It has the virtue of mostly targeting actual enemy agents. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/128 "2024-09-18T15:57:38Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > A) Checking all cell phones would be quite a task. Doubtless the top leadership had their electronics checked but as you go down the line the more things there are to check and that would take a while. > > B) I have read that Hezbollah is a very savvy organization and a serious threat to Israel. They even have special forces which may not be the best in the world but are considered competent. They are a much bigger threat to Israel than Hamas is. Yeah, to call Hezbollah dumb was hyperbole, I really don’t underestimate their effectiveness and dangerousness. But wouldn’t the first logical step have been to at least check their other devices for communication, only single samples? This ways they would have found the also manipulated walkie-talkies, warn everybody who had one and prevent this second wave. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/129 "2024-09-18T16:01:39Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > This ways they would have found the also manipulated walkie-talkies, warn everybody who had one and prevent this second wave. And, how would they have been able to do that? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/130 "2024-09-18T16:02:53Z")
There are still other ways of communication than electronic ones. I guessed they had fall back plans for situations like this. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/131 "2024-09-18T16:04:08Z")
[![](https://i.chzbgr.com/full/6405156352/hDC84D696/smoke-signals) ](https://i.chzbgr.com/full/6405156352/hDC84D696/smoke-signals) ETA: I just noticed that is Chicago (where I live). ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/132 "2024-09-18T16:05:44Z")
Such as? Smoke signals? Word-of-mouth during a chaotic situation? I think Israel had this one all figured out: After the pagers blew-up, they knew Hezzbollah would be reaching for the two-ways, since the cell phones were all gone. Next, people will be suspicious of their laptops and desktops. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/133 "2024-09-18T16:08:06Z")
For more in-depth coverage that news organizations (sensationalism, click bait), go to: > **[Hezbollah's Exploding Pagers Could Be As Monumental A Cyber-Espionage...](https://www.twz.com/news-features/hezbollahs-exploding-pagers-could-be-as-monumental-a-cyber-espionage-operation-as-stuxnet)** > > We live surrounded by networked devices equipped with packs full of potential energy, possibly offering adversaries an unprecedented vector for kinetic attacks. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/134 "2024-09-18T16:08:10Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Such as? Smoke signals? Word-of-mouth during a chaotic situation? Motorbike couriers? Carrier pigeons (yes, I’m serious, and I’m quite sure that some military orgs still use them for emergencies)? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/135 "2024-09-18T16:10:45Z")
Certainly other means of communication exist that Hezbollah could use but it slows things waaaay down which matters a lot when trying to coordinate large forces. This degrades their whole military significantly (which I am guessing was the whole point of this and not trying to kill X or Y person). ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/136 "2024-09-18T16:14:09Z")
The loss of reliable pagers and walkie talkies will hinder communications for awhile. Hezbollah will have to revert back to Cell phones. Which have there own tracking problems. Israel has shown incredible ingenuity. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/137 "2024-09-18T16:15:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Hezbollah will have to revert back to Cell phones. Which have there own tracking problems. If I were in Hezbollah, I wouldn’t even touch my electric toothbrush with a ten foot pole now. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/138 "2024-09-18T16:15:43Z")
And Assad in Syria has issued a country wide alert. #Assad’s regime has just issued a #Syria-wide emergency order for all intelligence directorates & Army units to dispose of two-way radios & handheld communication devices. Seeing some serious follow-on consequences. Bring on the Morse code transmitters from Independence Day. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/139 "2024-09-18T16:40:48Z")
Stolen from comments section - my thoughts too but easier to copy. "Another point is that this event is identifying ‘networks’ as well. It clearly identifies H-aligned people in any and all walks of life like that shopkeeper in the twitter video. The fact that it isn’t outright killing people as well means that whoever did it can backtrack and continue to track who had the pagers, the people around them, contacts, businesses, etc. its as good as putting a dye bomb in a bag of cash stolen from a bank. Or those explosive ground sonars. one boom just highlighted an entire hidden web of terrorists." ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/140 "2024-09-18T16:54:58Z")
Don’t fuck with Isreal. Don’t start none, won’t be none. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395.md?page=8)