How pagers became explosive devices in Lebanon

Pagers, devices used daily in the health sector as a vital means of communication, became a deadly weapon on Tuesday when thousands of them exploded simultaneously in Lebanon, killing 37 people and injuring thousands more.

The explosions were aimed at the militant and political group Hezbollah after the devices reportedly began beeping and heating up. The next day, another wave of wireless walkie-talkies exploded, killing 20 people and injuring 450 others. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosions, telling Al Jazeera that it holds the “Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression, which also targeted civilians.” Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.

The shocking incident raised a flood of questions, with many wondering how pagers could be modified to cause such havoc.

What are pagers and what are they used for?

Pagers are wireless communication devices that receive radio signals from short- or long-range paging networks.

Pagers also work without cellular reception or Wi-Fi and are therefore particularly reliable for their main user, hospital staff.

Pagers are most commonly used in hospitals. A 2017 BMJ study found that the devices have remained the primary means of communication in hospitals over the past 25 years, despite the introduction of new technologies. Doctors and nurses often use these devices to send updates or patient information to other staff members in a hospital without fear of internet problems.

The pagers that exploded in Lebanon looked like Gold Apollo’s AR-924 pagers, but the New York Times reported that they were actually developed by Israeli intelligence officials. The Gold Apollo pagers can receive messages on a frequency of 450 to 470 megahertz, allowing communication from about 36 miles away. The AR-924 model is alphanumeric, meaning it can send messages that contain both numbers and letters. Like many other pagers, the AR-924 is a one-way device, meaning it cannot send messages, only receive them.

Gold Apollo Co. denied manufacturing or designing the exploded pagers, saying in a statement that those processes were “entirely carried out by Hungarian company BAC Consulting KFT.” BAC Consulting told NBC News that it was a middleman, not a producer, in the production of the pagers. On Wednesday morning, a Hungarian government spokesperson posted on X that “the devices mentioned were never in Hungary.”

Why did Hezbollah use pagers?

The use of pagers has become increasingly common among Hezbollah members. The group has ordered more than 3,000 pagers from Gold Apollo, the New York Times reported, citing anonymous officials.

The group switched from cell phones to pagers earlier this year to prevent its communications from being intercepted by Israel, professor and regional security expert Amer Al Sabaileh told the New York Times.

Since October 7 last year, Israel and Hezbollah have been in a massive escalation of their long-running conflict. Airstrikes and missiles have killed hundreds of people in Lebanon and several dozen in Israel. After Tuesday’s explosions, Hezbollah told Al Jazeera that the “insidious and criminal enemy will surely be punished for this aggressive act.”

How did the pagers explode?

The most plausible explanation for why the pagers were designed to explode, experts say, is that they were tampered with during manufacturing and shipping.

Matthew Pines, director of intelligence at PinnacleOne Strategic Advisory Group, part of cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, and a former cybersecurity and preparedness adviser to several U.S. agencies, said the operation “bears all the hallmarks of a very successful supply chain attack.”

“Given the timing and scale (in Lebanon and Syria) and the operational importance, I doubt they would have relied on the pager network itself to trigger the explosion, but rather that they would have installed a receiver designed for that purpose,” he said.

John Brennan, former director of the CIA, told NBC News that he believed some kind of explosive was placed in the devices’ hardware to enable the attack to be carried out simultaneously and on such a large scale.

“All suspicion must rest on Israel, which is responsible for the incident,” Brennan said.

Who was affected by the explosions?

Although the exploding pagers were in the hands of Hezbollah members, a nine-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy were also killed in Tuesday’s explosions, according to the National News Agency. Muhammad Mahdi, the son of a Hezbollah MP, was also killed in the explosions.

Two hundred people were in critical condition after Tuesday’s explosions, Health Minister Dr. Firas Abiad told reporters. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured in an explosion. The embassy later said on X that he was in good condition.

The Lebanese Red Cross dispatched 130 ambulances and had another 170 vehicles on standby to respond to Tuesday’s explosions. The next day, the organization sent another 30 ambulances to respond to the walkie-talkie explosions.

The American University of Beirut Medical Center posted a statement on Facebook on September 17 saying it had admitted over 160 patients affected by the explosions. Doctors at the hospital told NBC News that many patients had suffered serious injuries to their hands and eyes.

In its written statement, the medical center also addressed “rumors and conspiracy theories” regarding the pagers used at its facility. The post said the hospital upgraded its paging system in late August to “improve emergency and code communications,” adding that “several devices and systems are outdated.”