Explained: How were the deadly Hezbollah pager explosions carried out in Lebanon?

On Tuesday (Sep 17), hundreds of pagers of Hezbollah fighters suddenly blasted in an unprecedented attack which was called a brutal strike on the militant group's "Achilles' heel".

In the mysterious blast, at least nine people lost their lives and around 2,800 suffered injuries. 

The nature of the attack surpassed the level of scope and execution seen in various covert assassinations and cyber-attacks that have taken place in the region in recent years.  

Also, the technique reportedly used by Israel to rattle Hezbollah has placed a question mark over its ability to secure its communication strategy. "This is a very concerning development and it shows Hezbollah is very vulnerable to Israel's intelligence capabilities. The leadership of Hezbollah will have to overhaul its communication strategy and will have to come up with a solution which would be more secure than these pagers," said David Wood, Senior Lebanon Analyst at Crisis Group.

How did the pager explosion occur?

The wireless pagers suddenly exploded at 3:30 pm (local time) in Lebanon just after a message was delivered on the device, which appeared to have been sent by the leadership of Hezbollah. 

As per the officials, the delivery of the messages activated the explosives as the device beeped for many seconds before it exploded. 

Nearly 3,000 pagers exploded in the blast. Speaking to the news agency Reuters, a Lebanese security source said that nearly three grams of explosives were hidden in the new pagers and Hezbollah had failed to detect it for months.

Hezbollah has claimed that the attack was orchestrated by Israel, however, the latter has not commented on the attack. 

The pagers which exploded had been recently purchased by Hezbollah said a Lebanese security source to CNN.

The explosions have underscored how vulnerable Hezbollah’s communication network is and how it was compromised which led to the deadly blasts.

"This is an extraordinary assault, notable not only for its lethal precision but also for the secrecy surrounding its execution. The attack has left Hezbollah reeling from a severe security breach, and recovery is likely to be slow. The immediate toll—marked by substantial casualties and an urgent scramble for a new, secure means of communication—compounds the group’s vulnerabilities," said Mohammed Soliman, Director, Strategic Technologies and Cyber Security Programme while speaking to WION.

Also read: Nine Hezbollah fighters dead; 2,750 injured as ‘Israel explodes’ their communication devices

How were the pagers compromised and turned into explosives?

The blast showed the world how the compromise of low-tech wireless communication devices can turn deadly. 

As per a report by The New York Times, the pagers of Hezbollah were probably compromised during the joint operation between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.

As per the report, Israel probably kept the explosives inside a batch of pagers and embedded a switch in it to detonate the explosives remotely. 

Speaking to The New York Times, International Security Program at Center for Strategic and International Studies deputy director Emily Harding said that there are chances of the pagers getting intercepted by Israeli operatives in between the supply chain before they got delivered to Hezbollah. 

Taking to X, director of Armament Research Services N R Jenzen-Jones said that the attack's videos suggest that the “explosive devices were integrated into the pagers."

“The scale suggests a complex supply-chain attack, rather than a scenario in which devices were intercepted and modified in transit," he added.

However, some experts argue that modern consumer devices like pagers contain lithium-ion batteries which can explode or catch on fire if they turn too hot or are brought in contact with metals. But considering the scale of the explosion, it appeared highly unlikely that it was caused by just the battery. 

According to a report by Sky News Arabia, Pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), which is a highly explosive material, was reportedly placed by Mossad agents in the batteries of the pagers. 

Speaking about the massive impact that Hezbollah suffered from the attack with WION, Fellow, Strategic Studies Programme at Observer Research Foundation Kabir Taneja said, "The major takeaway for Hezbollah for this experience is that Israel’s messaging being it still has accessibility deep into the group’s hierarchy and supply chains. So even if a full scale war is avoidable a clandestine war to degrade Hezbollah is very much on the cards."

Also read: Taiwanese company whose pagers exploded in Lebanon denies manufacturing them

Who were the makers of the pagers?

The pagers which blasted and caused massive losses to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah were made a European distributor, as per the chairperson of a Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. 

Speaking to reporters, Gold Apollo founder and chairperson Hsu Ching-kuang said that a contract was signed by his firm with a European distributor - Budapest-based BAC Consulting KFT - for using the Gold Apollo brand.  

He added that the contract was signed with the distributor nearly three years ago.  

Initially, the Gold Apollo’s other pager and communication products were only imported by the European company.

However, later the company informed Gold Apollo that they wished to create their own pager and asked for the right to use the brand of the Taiwanese company.  

Why did Hezbollah use pagers?

For Hezbollah, secrecy has been their most important military strategy. The members of the militant group were known to communicate through an internal communications network. 

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had earlier asked the members of the militant group and their families in southern Lebanon to throw away their cellphones, as they feared that their movement could be tracked by Israel through those devices.

“Shut it off, bury it, put it in an iron chest and lock it up. The collaborator (with the Israelis) is the cell phone in your hands and those of your wife and your children. This cell phone is the collaborator and the killer," Nasrallah said.

The militant group at that time decided to instead switch to low-tech technology to connect to each other and hence, turned to pagers. 

Watch: Lebanon Hezbollah pagers explosion: Lebanese Information Minister Calls It 'An Israel Aggression'

Speaking about the failure of Hezbollah's plan to use pagers as secured communication devices to stop Israel from intercepting their locations, Wood said, "This is the first time Israel has used communication devices as weapons. Hezbollah was already worried about Israel's ability to interfere with its communications. In fact, this is the reason Hezbollah has been using pagers in the first place because earlier in the conflict it worried that Israel was using mobile phones to locate Hezbollah members, including its senior members. So now this means that Hezbollah's plan to use pagers has also been compromised." 

So, what will be Hezbollah's next step to create more secure communications among its members after this embarrassing attack allegedly by Israel and will it impact their military ability?

"It will still be possible for Hezbollah leaders to talk with each other directly or to send messages through couriers who can take messages from members to members. However, it can slow down the efficiency of Hezbollah's military operation because such communication strategies are more time-consuming," said Wood, while speaking to WION. 

However, Soliman argues that "psychologically, the impact is immense. Hezbollah now faces an existential challenge: its once-trusted equipment is compromised, creating operational paralysis. This communication breakdown will likely force Hezbollah to rethink and overhaul its military operations. Such a transition carries inherent risks, increasing the chances of further operational missteps—gaps that Israel, ever watchful, will be ready to exploit".