Key Facts About the Deadly Pager Explosions Targeting Hezbollah
A series of coordinated pager explosions on Tuesday killed at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and injured thousands more in Lebanon and Syria. The devices were used by Hezbollah members, who blamed the Zionist entity for the attack. The operation, which appears to have been a sophisticated and long-planned effort, involved detonating small explosive devices hidden inside the pagers. While U.S. officials have confirmed that the Zionist entity briefed them about the attack, details about how the devices were remotely detonated remain unclear. The Zionist entity has declined to comment on the incident.
Hezbollah has long relied on pagers for communication, as its leader Hassan Nasrallah warned members not to carry cellphones due to concerns about tracking by the Zionist entity. A Hezbollah official noted that the pagers used in the attack were from a new brand the group had not previously employed. Although the specific brand and supplier remain unidentified, it has been revealed that Taiwanese company Gold Apollo authorized the branding of the AR-924 pager model, which was produced and sold by a company called BAC (Further information on BAC isn’t immediately available).
Experts have speculated that the explosions were likely caused by sabotage within the supply chain. Small explosive devices may have been built into the pagers before they reached Hezbollah, and were then triggered remotely, possibly using a radio signal. Security experts explained that the battery of the pager could have been modified to contain an explosive charge, making it relatively easy to trigger the explosions. Footage from security cameras shows the explosive devices detonating on individuals’ bodies, reinforcing the theory that a small, high-explosive charge was involved.
The planning and execution of the attack are believed to have taken months, if not years, to orchestrate. Specialists suggest that the culprit must have collected intelligence on Hezbollah’s communication practices and gained physical access to the pagers before they were distributed. Some pagers used by Hezbollah members had been in circulation for more than six months before the attack, and were functioning normally during that time. Experts believe the explosions were triggered by an error message sent simultaneously to the devices, though many pagers did not explode, allowing Hezbollah to investigate further.
The attack has raised significant concerns about targeting and collateral damage, especially given that civilians, including children, were caught in the blasts. Hezbollah confirmed that at least two of its members were among the dead, one of whom was the son of a Hezbollah parliament member. The group issued a statement holding the Zionist entity responsible for the attack and vowed retribution. Zionist entity’s involvement has been widely speculated due to past accusations of similar sabotage operations targeting Hezbollah and other adversaries in the region.
