How Israel carried out deadly pager explosions across Lebanon: 'Was a use it or lose it moment'

It was a "use it or lose it" moment for Israel as it decided to trigger a synchronised and complex attack by blowing up thousands of pager devices carried by members of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

US officials told Axios that Israeli intelligence decided to carry out the attack after concerns arose that Hezbollah may have found out about its secret operation.

Watch: Videos reveal horror as pager explosions rock Lebanon

Israel's Mossad wanted to use the "booby-trapped" pagers as a surprise blow to Hezbollah with an intention of severely crippling the politically-influential organisation that controls the most powerful armed force in Lebanon.

How the pagers were planted

Hezbollah had ordered around 5,000 pagers from a company called Gold Apollo in Taiwan a few months ago. However, Israel managed to tamper with the pagers and plant small amounts of explosives (up to 3 grams) inside them.

The group's fighters use these pagers as a low-tech means of communication to evade Israeli location-tracking, two sources familiar with the group’s operations told Reuters this year.

Officials told The New York Times that around 3.30pm local time, these pagers received a message that appeared as though it was coming from Hezbollah’s leadership.

However, the message triggered the explosives. A source told Reuters that 3,000 of these pagers exploded after the coded message was sent to them.

Officials told NYT that the pagers were programmed to beep for several seconds before exploding.

A child was among at least nine killed in these blasts, which wounded about 2,800 people. At least 170 people are in a critical condition.

Axios reported quoting US-based Al-Monitor that at least two Hezbollah members had raised suspicions about these pagers in the last few days. This prompted Israel to conduct the attack.

Hezbollah had ordered fighters to break phones

Recognising Israel's ability to penetrate electronic devices, top Hezbollah leader General Hassan Nasrallah had warned supporters in February that their phones were more dangerous than Israeli spies.

He urged them to break, bury or lock them in an iron box.

Instead of these phones, the group chose to distribute pagers to Hezbollah members across the group's various branches.

Reuters said that everyone, from fighters to medics working in its relief services, carried these devices.

The unprecedented attack threatens to further escalate tensions in the Middle East, which are already heightened by Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. The incident also reveals Hezbollah’s vulnerabilities, as its communication network was compromised with deadly consequences, following a series of targeted assassinations of its commanders.

The pager blasts came at a time of mounting concern about tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the Gaza conflict erupted last October.

(With inputs from agenices)