Explained: How Israel turned pagers into weapons of war

In what seems to be a well-coordinated remote attack, pagers belonging to hundreds of Hezbollah members exploded nearly at the same time in both Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday. The blasts resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people, including two children, and left thousands injured.

A U.S. official mentioned to the Associated Press that Israel informed the U.S. about the operation on Tuesday after it had ended. During the operation, small explosives hidden in the pagers were set off. The official spoke anonymously because they were not allowed to share this information publicly.

The Iran-supported militant group accused Israel of being behind the deadly explosions, which affected a large number of people and appeared to be part of a well-planned operation.

The specifics of how the attack was carried out are still unclear, and investigators have not yet explained how the pagers were triggered. The Israeli military has chosen not to comment on the incident.

Why were pagers chosen for the attack?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had earlier advised the group’s members not to carry cell phones, warning that Israel could use them to track their movements. Because of this, the group relies on pagers for communication.

A Hezbollah official informed The Associated Press that the pagers that exploded were from a new brand the group had not previously used. The official, speaking anonymously due to not being allowed to speak to the media, did not disclose the brand or the supplier.

On Wednesday, Taiwanese company Gold Apollo stated that it had given permission for its brand to be used on the AR-924 pager model, which was produced and sold by BAC Consulting, a company based in Budapest, Hungary. Additional details about BAC were not immediately available, as reported by A.P.

Nicholas Reese, an adjunct instructor at New York University's Centre for Global Affairs, explained to A.P. that smartphones pose a greater risk for intercepted communications compared to the simpler technology used in pagers.

This type of attack will force Hezbollah to change their communication methods, said Reese, a former intelligence officer. He added that survivors of Tuesday's explosions will likely get rid of not just their pagers but also their phones, tablets, and other electronic devices.

How could sabotage make these pagers explode?

Although a U.S. official confirmed that Israel had planned the operation, several theories surfaced on Tuesday regarding how the attack may have been executed.

Several experts told The Associated Press that the explosions were most likely caused by interference in the supply chain.

Tiny explosive devices might have been placed inside the pagers before they were delivered to Hezbollah, and they were likely triggered remotely at the same time, possibly using a radio signal.

Carlos Perez, the director of security intelligence at TrustedSec, explained that by the time of the attack, the pager's battery was likely part explosive and part functioning battery. This means the battery itself was altered to include explosive material while still maintaining enough function to power the pager.

A former British Army bomb disposal expert explained that an explosive device typically has five key parts: a container, a battery, a trigger, a detonator, and an explosive charge.

The former officer, speaking anonymously due to his current work as a consultant in the Middle East, said, "A pager already has three of those components. You would just need to add the detonator and the explosive charge."

In a pager, the trigger could potentially be its internal communication system, such as the radio receiver, which could be modified to activate an explosive device remotely. When a specific signal is sent, it could act as the trigger, causing the pager to detonate.

After security camera footage surfaced on social media on Tuesday, allegedly showing a pager exploding on a man's hip in a Lebanese market, two weapons experts supported the U.S. official's claim that the explosion seemed to be caused by a small explosive device.

Sean Moorhouse, a former British Army officer and explosives expert, commented that based on the video, the size of the explosion looked similar to what an electric detonator or a small, high-explosive charge would cause.

N.R. Jenzen-Jones, a military arms expert and director of the Australia-based Armament Research Services, pointed out that Israel has been accused of conducting similar operations in the past.

Last year, the Associated Press reported that Iran accused Israel of attempting to sabotage its ballistic missile program by using defective foreign parts that could explode, damaging or destroying the missiles before they could be launched.

What was the duration of this operation?

Planning an attack of this magnitude would take a significant amount of time. While the exact details remain unclear, experts who spoke with the AP suggest that it could have taken anywhere from a few months to up to two years to prepare.

Reese mentioned that the complexity of the attack indicates the perpetrator has likely been gathering information for a considerable amount of time.

Carrying out an attack of this level involves forming the necessary connections to get physical access to the pagers before they are sold, creating the technology to be placed inside the devices, and finding sources to confirm that the targets were using the pagers.

The compromised pagers likely appeared normal to their users for a while before the attack. Elijah J. Magnier, a veteran political risk analyst with over 37 years of experience in the region, said he spoke with Hezbollah members and survivors of Tuesday's pager attack. According to him, the pagers were obtained more than six months ago.

Magnier explained that the pagers worked normally for six months. He added that the explosion seemed to be triggered by an error message sent to all the devices.

From his discussions with Hezbollah members, Magnier mentioned that many of the pagers didn’t explode, giving the group a chance to examine them. They concluded that around 3 to 5 grams of highly explosive material had been hidden or embedded within the pager’s circuitry.

Jenzen-Jones also pointed out that an operation of this size brings up questions about targeting, especially considering the high number of casualties and the significant impact reported so far.

He questioned how those setting off the explosive can be certain that, for example, a target's child isn't using the pager when it goes off.

Hezbollah released a statement confirming that at least two of its members were killed in the bombings. One of the victims was the son of a Hezbollah parliament member, according to an anonymous Hezbollah official.

The group later announced that six more members were killed on Tuesday, though it didn’t provide details on how.

Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, stating, "We hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression, which also targeted civilians," and added that Israel will "definitely face the consequences."