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Pagers used by Iran-backed Hezbollah exploded in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding nearly 3,000 others. The pagers are believed to have been tampered with during supply.
The blast also occurred around 3:30 pm on Tuesday, when people were shopping for groceries, sitting in cafes and driving their vehicles. Most people also saw their pagers overheating and then exploding.
Who invented the pager?
The pager was manufactured by a Budapest-based company, which was authorized by the Taiwanese Gold Apollo company to use its branding.
According to Gold Apollo, the AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, based in the Hungarian capital.
“Pursuant to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademarks for product sales in specified territories, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC,” AP reported, citing a company statement.
Why did the equipment explode?
according to The Times of IsraelAnalysts say the devices were defective before delivery and were designed to explode at a specific time.
A report quoting sources said the Israeli spy agency had used a large quantity of highly explosive material PETN in the batteries of the devices, which was detonated remotely by raising the temperature of the batteries.
“Mossad has infiltrated the supply chain,” said Charles Lister of the Middle East Institute, referring to Israel’s intelligence agency.
“A small plastic explosive was almost certainly concealed along with the battery, which could have been used for remote detonation via a call or page,” Lister reported. The Times of Israel.
What do former CIA analysts say?
Former CIA analyst Mike Dimino called it a classic sabotage, saying Israeli intelligence agencies may have figured out who was providing communications equipment for Hezbollah and what type of equipment they were using.
“Then, either by using an asset posing as a vendor, or by directly inserting the compromised devices into vulnerable points in Hezbollah’s supply chain (perhaps a transport truck or a commercial ship), they are spread through the organization,” Dimino said in a post on X.
The analyst also said he had seen some reports that the batteries were designed to run very hot, but he was not willing to believe that notion, adding, “You would feel heat and you would remove it. That’s possible, but pagers are simple devices with small batteries. I would assume they were pre-set to explode at a specific time rather than detonated on command.”
Battery gone bad?
Paul Christensen, an expert on lithium-ion battery safety at Newcastle University, said the damage did not match previous cases of such batteries.
“What we’re talking about is a relatively small battery fire. We’re not talking about a deadly explosion here… my intuition is telling me the likelihood of that happening is very low,” Reuters quoted Paul Christensen as saying.
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