Electronic Device Explosions in Lebanon

On September 17th and 18th, 2024, the Israeli government carried out a series of unexpected attacks on Lebanese political and military group Hezbollah through hidden explosives in pagers and walkie-talkies. A total of 32 people were killed and thousands were injured across the two days of attacks, many of them Lebanese citizens.

On September 17th around 3:30pm, thousands of hand-held pager devices carried by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously, throwing citizens of Lebanon and Syria into a nationwide panic. 

At least 12 people were killed, including 2 children, and nearly 3,000 were injured. Many sustained wounds to the face and hands, some suffering maimed limbs.

When Hezbollah declared its solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after the October 7th attacks, combat between Israel and Hezbollah escalated along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Hezbollah began using pagers to communicate after leader Hassan Nasrallah banned the use of cellphones to avoid tracking by the Israeli government. When triggered by Israeli intelligence, the hundreds of pagers, which were hand-held and often carried in pockets, beeped at the same time, signaling an incoming message. People with pagers attached or near them turned toward their pagers and were caught off-guard by the exploding devices.

Hezbollah ordered the pagers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, but the devices were manipulated before reaching Lebanon. Israel implanted small amounts of explosive material into the batteries of the pagers, weaponizing the seemingly-harmless devices. 

An investigation by the New York Times found that Hungarian company BAC Consulting was involved in a contract with Gold Apollo that allowed them to produce and sell the pagers to Hezbollah. BAC Consulting is suspected to be an Israeli intelligence front that would’ve allowed them to intercept the devices before they were delivered. Through BAC Consulting, Israeli intelligence would’ve been able to implant explosive materials into the pagers. Once delivered, the pagers were bombs ready to be activated.

On September 18th, just a day after the pager attacks, more explosions, this time through walkie-talkies, occurred across Lebanon, beginning in the capital, Beirut. At a funeral for 3 Hezbollah members and a child killed in the attacks the day before, walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members detonated. The funeral erupted into a confused panic as mourners frantically searched for the source of the violence. Across Lebanon, the walkie-talkies killed at least 20 people and injured another 450.

The hysteria at the funeral reflected the chaos overwhelming the entirety of Lebanon.

The second surprise attack spread mass confusion and widespread fear, as citizens were left wondering which everyday objects were safe and which could be turned into weapons for another potential attack. Israel’s device explosions inflicted a different kind of warfare on Hezbollah and Lebanese citizens: psychological, as well as physical.

Sources:

“How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse: Exploding Pagers,” New York Times

“What we know about the Hezbollah device explosions,” BBC

“Israel says it killed senior Hezbollah figures in strike on Beirut,” BBC

“Lebanon is rocked again by exploding devices as Israel declares a new phase of war,” Associated Press

“‘New era’ of war beginning, Israel says, as more Hezbollah devices explode across Lebanon,” CNN

“Lebanon: Establish international investigation into deadly attacks using exploding portable devices,” Amnesty International