Yesterday, across Lebanon and parts of Syria, thousands of AR-924 pagers powered by rechargeable lithium batteries and rigged with the explosive PETN exploded upon receiving a particular message (ref. 1). As a result, 11 were killed and 2700 were injured. Those that held the pager up to read the message lost some fingers or were blinded by the detonation. Those that had the pager about their waist were wounded by shrapnel to the stomach, leg, and even groin. The pagers were said to be that of a Taiwanese company called Gold Apollo.
At first, there was speculation that a cyber attack of some sort had caused lithium batteries to malfunction. However, experts say, a lithium battery that goes wrong will typically start a fire and burn the device. This was more along the lines of a small explosion, which suggests that an explosive of some sort that was put into the device was triggered remotely or by a timer.
It turns out, the pagers were being used mostly by the Islamic militia of Lebanon Hezbollah. A few months ago, Hezbollah switched from mobile phones to pagers because they figured out that they were being tracked by Israeli intelligence. So they ordered a batch of pagers, reportedly from a Hungarian-based business called BAC Consulting, and they have been using these devices ever since, not realising that these were not ordinary pagers.
At some point during shipment, or else at the manufacturing process itself, the military grade explosive PETN was implanted into the pagers, some 3000 devices in all. Then, either a timer or some hidden software was added so that the explosive could be triggered at a specific time.
Everyone is speculating that Israel’s Mossad did this. But thus far, there has been no confirmation or comment from Israel.
Today, a new round of device detonations has occurred. This time, it is the walkie-talkies of Hezbollah that have exploded, resulting in more deaths and more injuries (ref. 2). These walkie-talkies from ICOM were made in Japan.
So, now, it is clear that someone is doing this to cripple the communications capability of Hezbollah. Hezbollah, being a militia and a terrorist organisation, cannot communicate like a normal army, using the means and know-how of a nation state.
In war, naturally the side that cannot communicate and coordinate cannot win.
If this is a covert, plausibly-deniable operation, a type “ungentlemanly warfare”, as Winston Churchill once put it, it is very clever.
Brutal, to be sure. Reports of severed fingers, eyes taken out, bleeding intestines, etc.
Then again, all of Lebanon, like all of Gaza (ref. Zephaniah 2:4-5), is dead (ref. Isaiah 23:18). They just don’t know it yet. So, collateral damage is not an issue.
The issue is that this op is so impressive and effective that others, in particular America and China, might draw inspiration from it. What then becomes of consumer electronics?
America, for sure, has a covert operations capability where agents have a licence to kill. In the 1970s, Gerald Ford issued an executive order to ban assassinations, after the Church committee’s investigation into the activities of the CIA, but Congress never formally outlawed the practice, and so in the 1980s Ronald Reagan restarted it all through his own executive order, and it carries on to this day. Anne Jacobsen chronicles all this in her book “Surprise, Kill, Vanish”.
When the British invented the concept of commandos and ungentlemanly warfare, vast swathes of Europe were occupied by Nazi Germany. Thus, the British were resisting the tyranny of Nazism and doing so behind enemy lines.
The Americans, however, picked up on this idea and applied it to the Cold War. To be fair, at the time, the Soviet Union and their satellite states were also doing assassinations and executions.
The embrace of special operations means, today, in war, there are no rules.
The company in Taiwan called Gold Apollo that purportedly manufactures the pager model in question AR-924 has come out to say that they did not manufacture these particular devices. Nevertheless, I think, Gold Apollo and ICOM are finished commercially. No one is going to look at their devices or even at pagers and mobile phones in general the same way ever again. From now on, e-commerce and mail order also feel different.
Fortunately, the kingdom of God is coming, and so Jesus Christ will bring an end to war.
Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalms 46:8-10
By the way, when Babylon comes to an end, the Bible prophesies that the world will rejoice.
That thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased! The LORD hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth. The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing.
Isaiah 14:4-7
Furthermore, at some point during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ, there will be peace and prosperity across the entire world.
Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Isaiah 9:7
Now, concerning the saints and “targeted killings” – the task of removing the rest of evil from the world once the promised land has been secured – it should be said that in effect a saint will be the ultimate covert soldier, a “ghost”. A target will never see it coming, and when it is over quite likely no one will ever know about it. A saint can even go hot enough to burn human bone so that nothing at all is left.
… and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
Isaiah 40:24
… and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.
Isaiah 41:16
People will simply wake up one day and realise that evil is no more – well, that is at least until Satan leaves hell and goes for round 2.
In regard to round 2, I should point out that those that remain loyal to God will have access to the Holy Spirit (ref. Ezekiel 38:21) and also to heaven (ref. Revelation 5:8).
And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains, saith the Lord GOD: every man’s sword shall be against his brother.
Ezekiel 38:21
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Revelation 5:8
By contrast, those that side with Satan will have no obvious means of communication and coordination. Certainly, any angel or human that tries the role of messenger or courier on the side of evil will not last long.
References:
1. Sheera Frenkel and Ronen Bergman (17 September 2024), “Israel Planted Explosives in Pagers Sold to Hezbollah, Officials Say”, nytimes.com
2. Allyson Horn (19 September 2024), “At least 20 killed, 450 wounded as new explosions hit Hezbollah walkie-talkies, Lebanese officials say”, abc.net.au