(09-17-2024, 05:37 PM)EndtheMadnessNow Wrote: Today we have exploding news in the Middle East which is nothing new, but this is like straight out of a dystopian sci-thriller movie.

"A Hezbollah official who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press that the new brand of handheld pagers used by the group first heated up, then exploded."

Hezbollah official: the explosions of Hezbollah members' pagers were caused by their lithium batteries exploding, says Israel is behind the incident.

Why pagers and not cell phones? See below highlighted text.


A wave of exploding pagers in Lebanon and Syria kills at least 8, including members of Hezbollah



Hezbollah pager explosions kill several people in Lebanon



NY Times

There are conflicting reports/signs regarding the modus operandi behind the explosion.

Some reports claim the lithium batteries of the pager overheated, and that a few of those targeted got rid of them before they detonated. On other videos/other reports, messages are received just before the explosion, which may be part of the detonating mechanism or just a way to make sure targets are hit, plus the report about a newer version of the pager being the one detonating, points to more of a physical breach.

I'm not an expert on exploding Lithium batteries, but from dozens of videos over the past 4 years we've all seen, the explosion/sparking is always followed by a fire. I don't see any fires in these Lebanon videos. Just a pop/bang, severe lacerations or worse, off with the arms or legs. Seems more like a tiny drop of plastic explosive. I don't think it was a hack; more of an implant with a digital trigger. Some group had to of intercepted that shipment of pagers.

Dozens of videos being shared on social media seem to show the pagers ring, then explode.
https://x.com/Telegraph/status/1836071352501199018

(09-17-2024, 06:37 PM)FlickerOfLight Wrote: I wonder if those particular pagers had special batteries that had been planted on those specific targets. It Kind of sounds like a spook hit; something the CIA, or other agencies like it, would do.

Either way, now we have Weaponized lithium. 

Which begs the question. Can the lithium in our rechargeable equipment be detonated like this?

Who wants to go out and buy more rechargeable lithium merch now? 

You're own car can become a bomb.
Not to mention everything else that's lithium that we now own.

Maybe that's another reason for the push on rechargeable lithium batteries.

Now, I may be way off here. But, this makes one wonder.

(09-18-2024, 02:31 AM)Ninurta Wrote:

(09-17-2024, 06:37 PM)FlickerOfLight Wrote: I wonder if those particular pagers had special batteries that had been planted on those specific targets. It Kind of sounds like a spook hit; something the CIA, or other agencies like it, would do.

Either way, now we have Weaponized lithium. 

Which begs the question. Can the lithium in our rechargeable equipment be detonated like this?

Who wants to go out and buy more rechargeable lithium merch now? 

You're own car can become a bomb.
Not to mention everything else that's lithium that we now own.

Maybe that's another reason for the push on rechargeable lithium batteries.

Now, I may be way off here. But, this makes one wonder.

Yes.

This is not the first time I've heard of exploding lithium batteries, although it usually happens when they are charging. I know of one case where a guy left a vape device with li-ion batteries in it on his nightstand to charge overnight, but it exploded and blew his head off as he slept.

I also had a li-ion camera battery that swelled up, preparatory to exploding, but I caught it and tossed it out.

I use li-ion batteries in my weapons devices, like lasers and flashlights, but only two are left alive now, both flashlights. All of the lasers have, um, broken.

This is a neat idea, but I gotta wonder how it is that they got the compromised devices only to Hezbollah and Hezbollah related individuals, like the Iranian intel guy in the embassy. It's a great big "screw with us some more, who'tcha?" message to Hezbollah and peripherally, Iran.

But, like I said, it usually happens when the batteries are charging - so I also gotta wonder how they got them to overload without a charger on 'em. I know of cell phone batteries overloading off-charger before, and know of them bursting into flames in folks' pockets, but not exploding.

Curious minds want to know!

.

Quote:Lebanon's official news agency on Wednesday (Sep 18) reported that home solar energy systems have exploded in several areas of Beirut.

This surge in explosions follows a series of deadly blasts involving pagers and walkie-talkies used by militant group Hezbollah.

Soon after the explosions, Israel's defence minister declared a "new phase" of the war as its army turned its attention to the northern front with Lebanon.

Quote:On Wednesday, there were reports of explosions in phones, laptops, walkie-talkies, radios, solar energy systems, and fingerprint-reading devices.

(09-19-2024, 02:36 AM)Infolurker Wrote: My assumption, any lithium battery can be signaled or hacked to blow up, even if not connected to the internet directly. If that battery has a board on it or is connected to a device with a board on it, I have to assume it can be sent a command to overheat over the air.

That is my theory until proven wrong... which I doubt can be done.

Quote:A British-educated businesswoman has denied allegations of manufacturing the pagers used in an audacious attack against Hezbollah.

The handheld devices killed at least 12 people and injured 3,000 after they simultaneously detonated across Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday afternoon in a suspected Israeli operation.

The Taiwanese company whose branding was on the technology claimed Budapest-based firm BAC Consultancy made the devices under a three-year brand licensing agreement.

But University College London (UCL) graduate Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, the CEO of BAC Consultancy, said she was just a link in the supply chain and did not make the pagers.

“I do not make the pagers. I am just the intermediary. I think you got it wrong,” Ms Barsony-Arcidiacono told NBC News.

Around three grams of explosives are reported to have been placed into the AR-924 pagers in a sophisticated supply chain infiltration.

A Lebanese security source claimed Israel’s spy agency Mossad planted explosives in thousands of the devices months before they exploded, and one US official told Axios news the Israeli military moved to detonate the devices because it feared the sabotage plot had been exposed.

The Iran-backed militant group has vowed to retaliate against Israel, whose military declined to comment on the blasts.

Ms Barsony-Arcidiacono studied for a physics PhD at UCL between 2002 and 2006, according to her LinkedIn page.

She then went on to study at the London School of Economics and the University of London for various postgraduate qualifications between 2009 and 2017.

She also recently worked with the European Commission as an “evaluation expert” and as a “groundwater resource manager” for Unesco.

On her company’s website – which went offline on Wednesday morning – her work was described as “bridging technology and innovation from Asia”. The firm’s address was registered to a residential-looking two-storey building in Budapest, with its name posted on the glass door on an A4 sheet.

Hezbollah, which controls southern Lebanon, forms part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance”, which opposes Western and Israeli influence in the region.

A Hezbollah official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the detonation of the pagers was the “biggest security breach” the group had been subjected to in nearly a year of war with Israel.

Quote:The Israeli military said it killed top Hezbollah military commanders, including the militia's head of operations Ibrahim Aqil, on Friday in an airstrike on a southern Beirut neighborhood. Lebanon's health ministry said at least 12 people were killed and dozens more were wounded.

The big picture: The strike in Beirut is further escalating the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, risking an all-out war.

    Hezbollah has not confirmed Aqil's death.

    The IDF said Aqil was the head of Hezbollah's military operations and the commander of the elite Radwan Forces, and was killed along with other commanders in the unit.

    An Israeli official said the senior command of the Radwan forces — about 20 commanders — were killed in the strike.

    IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a press conference that Aqil and the Radwan unit commanders were killed as they held a meeting.

Driving the news: The attack comes several days after the remote detonations of pagers and Walkie-Talkies that killed close to 40 people and wounded more than 3,000 others. Hezbollah said many members of its military units and institutions died or were injured in the attacks.

    A senior Israeli official said Israel did not inform the U.S. in advance of the attack in Beirut on Friday, but briefed senior U.S.
officials on the matter immediately after it was carried out.

    White House spokesperson John Kirby said he was not aware of any prior notice Israel gave the U.S. about the Beirut strike.

    Kirby said the U.S. still believes a diplomatic solution for the fighting on the Israel-Lebanon border is possible. He stressed that a war between Israel and Lebanon isn't inevitable "and we are trying to prevent it."

The latest: President Biden said at the top of the cabinet meeting on Friday that the administration is working on a solution that would allow civilians in northern Israel and southern Lebanon to go back to their homes.

    "We have to get this done, but we still have a way to go," Biden said.

Zoom in: Aqil is one of the founders of Hezbollah's military wing.

    He is wanted by the U.S. for his involvement in the bombings of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut in April 1983, which killed 63 people, and the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in October 1983, which killed 241 U.S. personnel.

What they're saying: An Israeli official described the assassination as "a huge blow" for Hezbollah's military command and control structure.

    Another Israeli official said that after Fuad Shukr was killed by Israel Defense Forces in July, Aqil replaced him as Hezbollah's top military commander.

    The Israeli official said Israel reached the conclusion that it wouldn't be able to reach a diplomatic solution to the situation on the northern border without going through a military escalation.

    "This is why we have been gradually taking our gloves off and increasing our attacks against Hezbollah," the official said.

Israel says it killed top Hezbollah military commander in Beirut strike (Axios)

Quote:The Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital killed at least nine people and wounded nearly 60 others, according to Lebanese health officials, and flattened two apartment buildings. The Israeli military also claimed that its strike killed other “top operatives” of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, without elaborating.

A Hezbollah official has confirmed that Akil was supposed to be in the building in the Dahiya district that was hit.

Local networks broadcast footage that showed a high-rise building completely flattened in Jamous area, just kilometers from downtown Beirut where Hezbollah holds sway. First responders scrambled through the tangled streets and combed through the rubble of at least two collapsed apartment buildings to search for more missing people. Health authorities said at least eight of the 59 wounded were in critical condition.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss behind-the-scenes security matters, said the strike targeted Ibrahim Akil, the head of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. An official close to Hezbollah also speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Akil was supposed to be in the building when it was hit.

It was not immediately clear whether Akil, who also served on Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, the group’s highest military body, was killed.

(09-20-2024, 09:16 PM)EndtheMadnessNow Wrote:

Quote:

    A senior Israeli official said Israel did not inform the U.S. in advance of the attack in Beirut on Friday, but briefed senior U.S.
officials on the matter immediately after it was carried out.

    White House spokesperson John Kirby said he was not aware of any prior notice Israel gave the U.S. about the Beirut strike.

Quote:2024 - Ibrahim Aqil, one of the men responsible for the 1983 bombings, is eliminated in an Israeli air strike.

I guess now confirmed...



Welp, the weekend is here and I'm sure this is going to escalate. Stay frosty.