Hizballah - When the Beepers Went Boom!

On September 17 2024, explosions rocked Lebanon and Syria. These were not rockets launched from aircraft or shells from naval ships or ground-based artillery. Instead, they seemed to come from hand-held pagers, but witnesses and observers were not sure. Most of the explosions took place in Beirut, a stronghold for Hizbollah. Soon, the connection between the pager and Hizbollah was clear. But what on earth was happening? Why did the beeps go bang?

For many younger listeners, pagers are largely artifacts of the past. They belong to yesterday’s technology. Maybe their parents used them early in their careers. They appear in old TV shows from the 1980s and 1990s, when women had poofy hair, and men wore suspenders at the office. But today’s generation is the cell phone generation. So, what exactly are pagers?

Pagers are handheld communication devices that display short text messages relayed over telephone lines by a central operator. They operate on radio waves rather than the Internet. This makes them harder to monitor, which, in turn, makes them popular with terrorist groups, including Hizbollah.

Hizbollah turned to pagers after its leadership determined that cellphones were being monitored by Israeli intelligence. Israeli intelligence got wind of this intended switch in communications and saw it as an opportunity. It crafted an intelligence operation like no other and one likely to make a mark in the history of intelligence operations, because it is one hell of a story! And here it is.

When Israelis heard about the planned bulk purchase of cell phones, intelligence got to work. Technicians designed pagers with a battery that concealed a small but potent charge of plastic explosive and a one-of-a-kind, largely undetectable detonator. The Israeli pseudo-pager was significantly larger than other pagers to accommodate the mini-bomb. They crafted a marketing campaign to incite would-be Hizballah purchasers. Sure, the pager was bulkier, but that was because it was combat-tough – a real war pager. They dressed up the ads with military paraphernalia. But who would sell these pagers? Hizballah would not buy an Israeli pager or one connected to Israel. So Israel invented a company and the pager it claimed to sell. This company was BAC Consulting, ostensibly a Hungary-registered firm that partnered with a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. In fact, these were shell companies created by Israeli intelligence.

But BAC Consulting would have to appear credible. Why didn’t it have significant sales? Why haven’t more people heard of it? What is this company, anyway? It is not well-known because it has very few clients. After all, it was military-grade. BAC needed only one client – Hizballah. And Hizballah took the bait and bought hundreds. Hizballah bought and distributed the pagers in the summer of 2022. The group’s technicians found nothing suspicious in the new product. Now, Israel would wait and wait for an opportune time to kill and maim.

The moment came when Israel claimed it had thwarted a Hizballah attempt to kill senior Israeli leaders in September 2024. When the Israeli attack struck, it did so like lightning. Hundreds of pagers exploded nearly simultaneously, killing dozens and maiming and disfiguring scores of others. While the largest number of casualties was in Beirut, many people were also wounded in the country's north and south.

But what were the mechanics of the attacks? Israeli intelligence sent a ring to each pager. The recipient then picked up the pager and, usually, saw the message “error.” This was followed by the message “Press OK,” which many did. This detonated the explosive inside the pager and usually killed or seriously injured the victim. Many lost fingers, which were blown off. Many suffered severe facial scars and blindness because they held the pager close to their face so they could read the message. The facial scars will remain clearly visible.

There was also the psychological trauma. Mohammed Awada, 52, and his son were driving when the boy saw a pager explosion. Awada said. “My son went crazy and started to scream when he saw the man’s hand flying away from him.” Elsewhere, a young girl, Fatima, had just come from school when she answered her father’s pager. The explosion killed the 9-year-old girl. How reliable is each story related to journalists? Some are certainly fabricated or exaggerated. However, local hospitals treated people of all ages.

Lebanese government officials and Hezbollah were quick to blame Israel. "After examining all the facts, available data, and information regarding the heinous attack this afternoon, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression.” The following day, hundreds of walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives also exploded.