How Israeli ‘Pager Attacks’ Wreaked Havoc On A Notorious Terrorist Group

ANALYSIS – And it couldn't have happened to a better group of terrorists. While the world waits to see if the complex and sophisticated Israeli attacks on Hezbollah's handheld pagers and walkie talkies will spark a bigger war, experts see chaos in the Iran-backed terrorist ranks.

Earlier, I noted several different views on what may come next in the Israel-Hezbollah front. And we will soon find out.

But meanwhile, the New York Post reports on the major internal impact on Iran-backed Hezbollah from the massive surprise attack on thousands of its individual terrorists, noting that it will “significantly damage the ability of the Lebanese terror group to fight against Israel.”

According to Hezbollah officials, the attack is the most serious security breach in the group's history, which was founded directly by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to fight Israeli forces that had invaded Lebanon that year to root out the major Palestine terror group at the time – the PLO.

In addition to several Hezbollah terrorists killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, the day was one of the deadliest for the group since it began firing on Israel nearly one year ago in support of Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“In just one minute, the enemy managed to deliver the harshest blow to Islamic resistance since the onset of the conflict,” the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar Al-Ahkbar stated.

The newspaper added that the operation confirmed for Israel its “security superiority.”

And since the types of devices came from a variety of technologies,” he said. “This kind of secondary strike will certainly cause Hezbollah to have fear and push the group into greater internal chaos.”

The detonation of thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah fighters sparked panic in the group known for military discipline and order. Some tossed away all their devices as blasts continued throughout Hezbollah-controlled areas of Beirut and other parts of Lebanon. Others buried or destroyed them.

And the fear and confusion aren't limited to the terrorists, their family members and even regular civilians are now paranoid that their devices could explode at any time.

The psychological impact is as great, if not greater, than the tactical one.

John Spencer, a former U.S. Army officer and urban warfare expert, emphasized the attack's unprecedented psychological impact.

In a post on X, he stated: “On top of the physical damage to Hezbollah, the psychological impact is massive. Not being able to trust their equipment to communicate. Possibly leading to making big mistakes in areas like operational security.” 

The Post continues:

Regardless of whether more attacks are soon to come, Israel's recent blasts have already become “Hezbollah's worst nightmare,” adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Seth J. Frantzman told The Post.

“Hezbollah is not used to internal chaos,” he said. “Hezbollah will now be overly cautious about any outside devices it acquires.”

The blasts have left the terrorists — who already were apprehensive about cellphones — even more paranoid, leaving a big question mark over how they will communicate and plan their future attacks.

“The nature and scale of the attack also likely stoked confusion and shock among some Hezbollah members,” according to a joint report by the American Enterprise Institute's Critical Threats Project and the Institute for the Study of War.

Frantzman adds that “The blasts have left the terrorists – who already were apprehensive about cellphones – even more paranoid, leaving a big question mark over how they will communicate and plan their future attacks.”

The terror group made a dramatic move to using old-school pagers out of concern over Israel's ability to hack and track cell phones with GPS. Now, it needs to find yet another way to communicate.

And that new way may not be as fast and effective.

“The group is already concerned that its own internal landlines are compromised and it prefers to stay away from cellphones, leaving it with fewer options to coordinate its terrorist activities,” Frantzman said.

The attack has “also likely stoked confusion and shock among some Hezbollah members,” according to a report by the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

“These effects could drive general paranoia within Hezbollah as well, given that Israel has demonstrated repeatedly in recent months how deeply it has infiltrated Iranian and Iranian-backed networks.”

While senior Hezbollah leaders don't carry electronic devices out of caution, their bodyguards do. And some of those bodyguards were hit.

Maybe next time the leaders will be hit as well.

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