There is a detonation in the new attack on Hezbollah

Solar equipment explosions in Lebanon during the Hezbollah-Bajaj attack on Wednesday (Matrix and AP in Mauritania)

The walkie-talkie explosions appeared to have been orchestrated the same way as the attack on Tuesday, which was likely carried out by intercepting new pagers at some point in their journey through the supply chain and modifying them to add explosive material. Hezbollah had reportedly expanded its use of pagers recently in an attempt to secure communications after the group feared that other channels had been infiltrated by Israeli intelligence. Hezbollah bought walkie-talkies five months ago as part of the initiative that led them to purchase pagers, it was reported on Wednesday.

The home solar systems exploded less than an hour after the radio detonations began, according to the Associated Press. At the time of publication, details of the solar equipment attacks were still being developed.

More than 300 people were injured and nine people died in Wednesday’s explosions in Lebanon according to a statement by the Health Ministry. The Red Cross in Lebanon said more than 30 ambulances treated people injured.

The Era of Explosives in Lebanon: The Case of Israel and the Hezbollah Cyber-Spynchrony Campaign

The campaign to compromise Hezbollah communication infrastructure with explosives was extensive and involved. The operation is believed to have been carried out by Israel and may be a source of inspiration for future spycraft around the world. But sources tell WIRED that the specific scale and scope of the effort would not be easily replicated in other contexts. And, more broadly, the resources and precision involved in carrying out such an attack would be prohibitively difficult to maintain over time for key consumer devices like smartphones—which are used so widely and regularly scrutinized by researchers, product testers, and repair technicians.

The devices exploding are possibly a type of handheld radio, according to the Le Beck International head of intelligence.

A research fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies said there is potential to see more of this in the future. Kallenborn says militaries are increasingly relying on commercial technology—from drones to communications devices—all of which could be compromised if supply chains can be exploited by adversaries. “These systems are being sourced from all over the globe,” he says. You also have global supply chains supporting them, that’s what that means.

Exactly how Israel may have secreted explosive material into so many thousands of gadgets and remotely detonated those payloads remains far from clear. Theories about the operation have come to a consensus, though: that an Israeli intelligence agency likely carried out a supply chain attack that used a Hungarian front company to build devices with batteries laced with the explosive PETN—and even embedded metal ball bearings in pagers’ cases to increase the lethality of their payload—before impersonating a legitimate supplier and selling them in Lebanon.

Cyber security experts have ruled out some early theories regarding the cause of device cyberattacks exploding. The small size of pager and walkie-talkie batteries makes it difficult to determine the force of blasts seen on the ground.

The booms that rattled Lebanon this week were not from Israeli jets but from electronic devices that exploded in peoples’ pockets and hands. Kobeissi, who is based in Paris, says that when he speaks to his family in Lebanon, they tell him that their phones are getting hot and they wonder if they’re overreacting.

The sound of sonic booms created by Israel Defense Forces’ planes in the sky above Lebanon generated enough noise and concussive force to sometimes make his home snore, as he and his family slept in the hallways. The psychological effect—which he believes was intentional—was long-lasting. Even years later, after he’d left Lebanon, the sound of fireworks would make him start subconsciously sweating and shaking.

“They’re wondering, is my phone being hacked? Is it going to blow up? Kobeissi says. “It’s worse than the sonic booms, because it’s completely novel, and it’s almost impossible to explain to them.”

There is still uncertainty over the motivation behind the October 7 attack, even as Israel is in a war with Hezbollah and Hamas is trying to establish control of the Gaza Strip. Bruce Schneier, a security and law professor at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, says the fact that the explosions mostly were carried out by weaponized communication devices is not a coincidence. Following years of hacking of adversaries’ computers and phones, the psychological effect of the operation is to create paranoia in all remaining communication and coordination with the country’s enemies.