At least nine people were killed, and nearly 3,000 others were injured when personal pagers used by Hezbollah members – including fighters and medics – exploded simultaneously in Lebanon on September 17, 2024. These explosions occurred after the pagers rang, prompting Hezbollah members to touch or check the screens, leading to injuries. According to eyewitnesses, the explosions continued for about an hour.
The blasts were relatively mild, affecting only the person holding the pager or those nearby. Videos from hospitals and posts on social media showed individuals with facial injuries, missing fingers, and large wounds on their thighs, where the device was carried in their pockets. However, the explosions did not cause significant damage to buildings or ignite fires.
Accounts of the cause of the explosions varied. While the Lebanese government considered it a cyberattack on the explosive devices, others suggested that Israel might have infiltrated the pagers’ supply chain, rigging them with explosives before they reached Hezbollah.
What is a Pager?
A pager is a small electronic device used to receive text messages or notifications without needing an internet connection. It was commonly used in the 1990s and early 2000s as a primary means of communication before mobile phones became widely available.
Pagers operate by receiving digital radio signals from a telecommunications network, which contain information such as text messages or alerts. These signals are decoded and displayed on the pager’s screen. Some models allow users to respond to messages or call a specific number.
Hezbollah members use pagers for communication, believing they can avoid being tracked by Israel since these devices do not require the internet, wireless networks, or GPS data, making them relatively safer than smartphones.
Main Uses:
Although pager usage has significantly declined with the rise of smartphones, it is still used in certain specialized fields, such as hospitals, healthcare facilities, shopping centers, and sometimes in desert tours for quick and reliable notifications, as outlined below:
Medical and Healthcare: Pagers are widely used in hospitals because they provide a fast and reliable way to send alerts to medical staff. They are sometimes preferred over mobile phones, as they do not rely on internet or mobile signals, which may be unstable in certain areas of the hospital. These devices are also used in emergencies to quickly notify doctors, nurses, and paramedics, as instant alerts can be crucial in saving lives.
Emergency and Rescue Services: Some fire and police departments use pagers to alert teams about incidents and emergencies, as they function reliably in environments where mobile signals may be weak or unavailable.
Hazardous Industries and Industrial Sites: Pagers are used in industrial environments where it may be unsafe to use mobile phones or wireless networks due to interference or security risks. Pagers provide a safe and effective communication method in such environments.
High-Sensitivity Environments: In some settings, such as labs or areas highly sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, pagers are used because they do not emit strong signals like mobile phones.
Industrial Control and Technology: Pagers alert operators and technicians to malfunctions or warnings in industrial systems or technological infrastructure, effectively transmitting important messages.
Security Services: Some security companies rely on pagers to send quick alerts to guards and surveillance personnel.
Major Manufacturers:
Pagers were initially produced by many major tech companies during their peak in the 1980s and 1990s. Some of the prominent manufacturers include:
Motorola: One of the largest manufacturers of pagers, Motorola released many popular models and had a significant influence on the global pager market.
NEC: This Japanese company was also a major pager manufacturer, offering advanced products during that era.
Philips: Philips was involved in the pager market as well.
Unication: Specializing in wireless communication solutions, Unication continued producing pagers for a long time.
Jensen: This company released some popular pager models.
Gold Apollo: A Taiwanese company founded in 1980, specializing in producing pagers and other communication equipment widely used before the spread of mobile phones.
Two Explosion Scenarios:
Various accounts have surfaced regarding the cause of the pager explosions in Lebanon:
Explosive Devices: A scenario suggests that small explosives or detonating chips were planted in devices meant for Hezbollah months ago, manufactured by Taiwan’s Gold Apollo. A company official denied that they were the direct manufacturer, stating that a European company licensed to use the “Apollo” brand made the devices. Media reports indicated that the company in question might be BAC, based in Hungary.
Considering this scenario and accusations against Israel, it wouldn’t be the first time Israel carried out assassinations using booby-trapped phones. In 1996, Israel’s intelligence services successfully killed Hamas leader Yahya Ayyash with an explosive-laden mobile phone, detonated remotely when Ayyash used it. Given the nature of injuries sustained by Hezbollah members—such as limb loss and deep wounds—this scenario seems plausible. It could be the largest remote-targeted operation known so far.
Battery Overload: Another scenario involves lithium batteries inside the pagers being overloaded, causing them to explode. But how were these batteries triggered to become ticking bombs? Several possibilities include: A. A server connecting most of these devices may have been hacked through a vulnerability, allowing malware to be installed that overloaded the devices and caused the lithium batteries to overheat and explode. B. The devices may have received high-intensity frequencies from nearby drones, which sent these frequencies to the devices after decoding them, causing the batteries to overheat and explode. C. The pagers may have backdoors that could be exploited to trigger battery explosions. D. Israel may have infiltrated the pagers’ supply chain and replaced the original batteries with ones containing explosive materials.
In previous experiences, lithium batteries do not explode with such force unless fully charged. Partially charged batteries tend to burn and emit gases and smoke rather than explode. Given the nature of injuries in Lebanon, the scenario of pagers being rigged with explosive chips or small amounts of explosives, with lithium batteries acting as a trigger, seems the most likely.
It’s possible that both scenarios occurred together. Witnesses said the pagers emitted signals before exploding, tricking Hezbollah members into picking them up, causing more severe injuries. Alternatively, this signal might have been the detonation code sent to the pagers to trigger the batteries and explode the charges. This raises the possibility that at least the pager frequencies were hacked before the explosions or the devices themselves were pre-loaded with explosive charges.
Despite the plausibility of this scenario, it is also possible that Israel developed a technique similar to the “Stuxnet” virus, which caused the pager explosions. In collaboration with the NSA, Israel developed the virus to disrupt Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility in 2009/2010, causing nearly 1,000 centrifuges used for uranium enrichment to fail. This virus closed the release valves on the centrifuges, causing them to explode. The question remains: Could Israel have developed a similar technique to Stuxnet, which was over 15 years old, to trigger these pager explosions?
Catastrophic Risks:
These unprecedented explosions open the door to catastrophic scenarios where everything in our lives that relies on technology could become a weapon. Smartphones, smartwatches, tablets, laptops, and even children’s toys like scooters depend on lithium batteries, making them potential time bombs. Electric cars, too, could be pre-rigged car bombs used for assassinations or new forms of terrorist attacks.
Moreover, any device containing code or digital software, such as power generators, water desalination plants, dams, transportation systems, and other infrastructure, could be hacked, causing significant material and human losses. This could mark a new phase of warfare that doesn’t differentiate between civilians and soldiers, young and old.
