How did thousands of Hezbollah pagers explode at the same time?

The attack targeting the low-tech pagers carried by the Iran-backed militants leaves many questions unanswered including how it was carried out.

Israeli operatives planted explosives in pagers Hezbollah bought from a Taiwanese company.

Hundreds of pagers exploded in Lebanon on Tuesday local time in an apparent attack that left thousands injured and killed nine people. No one has claimed responsibility for the incident.

Insane Footage from today, showing the Detonation of several Encrypted Pagers used by Hezbollah at a Supermarket in Beirut, resulting in multiple Injuries. pic.twitter.com/UqSX9EorPd

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 17, 2024

Why are Hezbollah operatives using pagers?

Hezbollah acknowledged the vulnerability of its communication networks earlier in its escalating conflict with Israel, which began with the start of the war in Gaza in October. In February, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, urged its fighters to get rid of their smartphones, saying Israel could use them for surveillance or targeting. A Hezbollah official said Tuesday that many fighters had pagers.

Where did the pagers come from and who made them?

Early reports show that the pagers are manufactured by the Gold Apollo company in Taiwan. Many of the affected pagers were from a new shipment that the group received in recent days, people familiar with the matter said.

How did the pagers explode in Lebanon?

Hezbollah said a number of pagers carried by its members exploded simultaneously at 3.30pm local time. It couldn’t immediately be determined what caused the blasts, which were spread out across the country in several areas where Hezbollah has a heavy presence. A Hezbollah official said some people felt the pagers heat up and disposed of them before they burst.

Robert Graham, chief executive of Errata Security, a cybersecurity company in Atlanta, said it was possible that hackers made the batteries inside the pagers blow up with a page containing malicious code, but that would be highly challenging. The hackers would need to know the make and model of the devices and the effect wouldn’t be as powerful as videos of the explosions suggest, he said.

A more likely scenario, according to Graham, is that a shipment of pagers from their manufacturer was intercepted en route to their destination and explosives were placed inside along with malicious code. A page would set them off.

Who is behind the attack?

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the attack. Both said civilians were killed, and Hezbollah threatened to retaliate. The Israeli military declined to comment.

How many people were killed or injured?

Authorities said the attack injured more than 2,700 and killed eight across Lebanon. Iranian state television said the country’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured by his pager but was conscious and not in danger.

Who still uses pagers?

Pagers have declined in popularity but are still widely used in the healthcare industry. Hospitals and doctors continue to use them to relay urgent messages, from summoning surgeons in an emergency to deploying staff and supplies where they are needed.

The technology has lost ground to cell phones, but pagers persist in healthcare because beepers can reach workers in cellular dead zones and have long-lasting batteries, said Eric Martinuzzi, a senior research analyst for Lake Street Capital Markets.

Roughly 2,200 U.S. hospitals still use the technology, according to Spok, a major seller of the devices, based in Plano, Texas. And as of June, the company had roughly 747,000 pagers in use across the U.S. and Australia, said Vince Kelly, Spok chief executive. The devices are manufactured exclusively for the company, he said.

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