VK Sanju
In Homer’s timeless epic the Iliad, the masterstroke lies in its breathtaking climax. The tale centres on a colossal wooden horse, seemingly left behind by retreating Greek soldiers from the gates of Troy, giving the illusion of defeat. The Trojans, believing victory was finally theirs, began celebrations. As the night wore on and their defences fell, the jubilant Trojans were effortlessly overpowered by the Greeks who emerged from within the belly of this wooden horse in which they were hiding.
Like straight from the pages of Greek mythology, Hezbollah now finds itself at the heart of a modern-day Trojan tale - a series of explosive betrayals marking the greatest security breach in their history. But this time, it wasn’t a wooden horse that concealed the enemy; it was the humble pager - an unassuming relic, scarcely known to the tech-savvy youth of today.
The pager, once a revolutionary communication device, has long been cast into the shadows by the arrival of mobile phones. For those born beyond the 1990s - who have even abandoned the once-beloved SMS - the very existence of such a relic might seem like a whisper from a distant past. They may find it almost unimaginable that not too long ago, there existed a device dedicated solely to sending messages.
The pager, a relic of wireless technology, may seem obsolete in today’s fast-paced digital world, yet it remains a trusted lifeline for the Lebanese group Hezbollah. Their reliance on this bygone device stems from a calculated fear - modern mobile phones are vulnerable to the prying eyes of the enemy who can track the location. And that ever-watchful enemy is none other than Israel, with its intelligence arm Mossad.
The claim that Israel remotely detonated the pager, while intriguing, cannot be accepted at face value - at least not yet. If such an explosion were possible, it would raise even darker fears that malware, like a digital virus, could be injected into the device, causing it to detonate. However, under the current circumstances, such concerns can be set aside. The theory that the pager's functions were overloaded, jammed and triggered to explode due to excessive heat has already been dismissed.
Recent revelations suggest that the pagers, already laced with explosives, had entered Lebanon as ticking time bombs. Evidence points to each device containing up to 3 gms of hidden explosives. These pagers bore the stickers of the Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. However, the company firmly denies any involvement, claiming that their brand had been forged.
It has been established that pager model AR-924 had been used in this clandestine warfare. Gold Apollo, distancing itself from the explosive devices, claims that these particular pagers are produced and sold by a Hungary-based company called BAC.
Hezbollah operatives, still gripped by the fear of Israel and its infamous Mossad, continue to rely on the humble pager. If the suspicion holds true that Israel orchestrated the pager blasts, this cunning strategy echoes the ancient masterstroke of deception of the Takshaka serpent - slipping into the fruit as a worm to strike down King Parikshit.