The thousands of pagers and other electronic equipment that exploded in the attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon last week were rigged at the time of manufacture.
The highly experienced explosives expert Bo Janzon believes so.
– Unscrewing and doing it afterwards is difficult, the batteries are probably soldered on, he says.
Israel has denied involvement, but the world remains convinced that the Mossad intelligence service is behind what is likely one of the most remarkable intelligence operations in history.
Bo Janzon has decades of experience with explosives, including from the Norwegian Defense Research Institute.
– The most likely thing is that the batteries have been tampered with. That’s the best way to do it, he says.
Small explosive charge
Everything points to it being a small explosive charge, perhaps from three to a maximum of ten grams, Bo Janzon believes. He believes that the explosive itself is a sensitive one that is easy to initiate.
– A pager has electricity and a circuit can react if you send a message from a certain number or with a certain content. Being able to pull this off is extremely skillful.
Israel has been silent on Lebanese accusations that the Jewish state was behind the wave of exploding pagers and walkie-talkies that hit Hezbollah this week.
In an interview on Sky News published days after the blasts, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is dismissive.
A week after the attacks, the conflict between Israel and the terrorist-branded Hezbollah has escalated, and more than 500 people are reported to have died in Lebanon.
The pager attack
In one of the largest intelligence operations the world has seen, thousands of pagers were blown up in Lebanon. Thousands injured, many killed.