Israel Planted Explosives in Pagers Sold to Hezbollah, Officials Say

Israel conducted an operation against Hezbollah on Tuesday by embedding explosive material in a shipment of Taiwanese-made pagers imported into Lebanon, according to American and other officials briefed on the incident.

The pagers, ordered by Hezbollah from Gold Apollo in Taiwan, had been tampered with before reaching Lebanon. Most were the AR924 model, though other models from the same company were included in the shipment, officials said.

Explosive material, around one to two ounces, was placed next to the battery in each pager, according to two officials. A remote switch was embedded to detonate the explosives. At 3:30 p.m. in Lebanon, the pagers received a message appearing to come from Hezbollah leadership, which instead activated the explosives. Lebanon’s health minister reported at least 11 people killed and over 2,700 injured. The devices beeped for several seconds before detonating, according to three officials.

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for orchestrating the attack but shared limited details of the operation. Israel has neither confirmed nor commented on its involvement.

The officials spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the operation. Independent cybersecurity experts, after reviewing footage, confirmed that the strength and speed of the explosions indicated the use of a specific type of explosive material.

“These pagers were likely altered in a way that triggered such powerful explosions. The size and intensity suggest it wasn’t just the battery,” said Mikko Hypponen, a cybersecurity expert from WithSecure and adviser to Europol.

Keren Elazari, an Israeli cybersecurity expert and researcher at Tel Aviv University, said the attack struck Hezbollah at a vulnerable point. Earlier this year, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had limited the use of cellphones, considering them vulnerable to Israeli surveillance.

“This attack exploited a critical weakness by targeting their communication methods,” Elazari said. “While pagers have been targeted before, this attack was more sophisticated.”

More than 3,000 pagers had been ordered from Gold Apollo, with Hezbollah distributing them across Lebanon, and some reaching allies in Iran and Syria. The attack affected pagers that were active and receiving messages.

The timeline of when the pagers were ordered and delivered to Lebanon remained unclear.

Reporters Sheera Frenkel and Ronen Bergman contributed to this piece. Frenkel focuses on the impact of technology on daily life, while Bergman is an expert in Israeli intelligence and the author of “Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel’s Targeted Assassinations.”