Pagers are devices that have generally become obsolete in the mobile phone age. However, the Hezbollah leadership were concerned by the cyber abilities of Israel, and believed that modern digital communications were at risk of interception by Israel’s Mossad. To counter this Hezbollah ordered a large shipment of pagers, which are so outdated they are difficult to hack. Little did they know it but by doing so they had allowed in a different type of Trojan - the Trojan Horse!

The pagers were officially made by a Taiwanese company named Gold Apollo. However, it was quickly found that they had been manufactured by a different company under license named BAC Consulting. It is believed that this company was in fact a Mossad front. Each device had the insides completely redesigned, to create space for a small plastic explosive charge made from PETN. Once a signal was sent out, each device would use the battery to detonate the explosive. 

The vast majority of the pagers were in the possession of Hezbollah terrorists at the time of the explosions. According to some reports, the device would ring, and when the user entered the password the pager immediately exploded. This would likely have been to ensure that the owner of the device had the device when it exploded. Due to the small size of the pagers and explosives, only 12 were killed during the explosions, but over 2,750 were wounded. Not only did this take down Hezbollah’s communication system, but also maimed a large number. Independent estimates suggest Hezbollah have around 20,000 active personnel, which would suggest that the attack took out around 15% of their fighting force. 

The following day a second wave of explosions shook Lebanon, including at a funeral of some of the Hezbollah fighters who had died in the initial wave. This time it was the walkie-talkie radio used by Hezbollah terrorists. A further 30 people were killed and 750 wounded. This brought the number of Hezbollah casualties to 3,500 - nearly 20% of their active personnel. Hezbollah leader Nasrallah said they considered it a “declaration of war” and since the attacks the number of rockets fired from Lebanon have increased dramatically. Sonic booms from Israeli jets have been heard throughout Lebanon, including the capital city of Beirut. 

While it is still unclear whether this will continue to escalate or whether it will return to it’s post October 7th new normal, this is by far the most serious escalation at Israel's northern border since the deadly attacks of October 7th. A full scale war against Hezbollah seems likely.

Israel’s aim would be the enforcing of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which was adopted after the 2006 Lebanon War. It called for Hezbollah fighters to stay north of the Litani River in Lebanon and away from Israel’s border. Since 2006 Hezbollah have dug in far to the south of Litani, and have stockpiled between 40,000 and 120,000 missiles and rockets targeting Israel.

The prophet Joel prophesied about the time of Christ’s return and in chapter 3:4-8 speaks of a group of people against Israel in both the area of the “Coast of Palestine” and also “Tyre and Zidon”. The coasts of Palestine likely refers to those in the Gaza Strip, and Tyre and Zidon are cities within the modern territory of Lebanon.  

The prophet writes:

4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompence? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompence upon your own head;

5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:

6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

7 Behold, I will raise them out of the place whither ye have sold them, and will return your recompence upon your own head:

8 And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people far off: for the Lord hath spoken it.

The ESV translates verse 4 a little differently with “are you paying me back for something”, and so we see that these groups are people who feel they have had something done against them, and want to pay back what has been done to them. 

Today, in their hatred for God’s people, who have returned to their homeland after many thousands of years, we see this desire for a recompense in the minds of the terror groups against Israel. Now, as we see these groups talked about in prophecies of the time of the end, we do expect Israel to live in peace and safety, as prophesied in Ezekiel 38. So, as Bible believers, we can expect to see these groups considerably weakened, and their ability to attack Israel removed, but also expect them to continue to exist with a grudge against God's people. This will continue until they are empowered by Gog's invasion of the land.

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