2024 Pager and Radio Attacks on Hezbollah

Overview

The 2024 Pager and Radio Attacks on Hezbollah refer to a two covert attacks on the Lebanese Islamist political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah in mid-September 2024, which involved two simultaneous remote explosions of encrypted pagers, radios, receivers and other electronics used by members of the group. While unconfirmed, Hezbollah placed the blame for the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of at least 37 people and injuries of about 3,450 according to Lebanon's health ministry, on Israeli intelligence, which allegedly infiltrated the supply chain in order to set off explosions remotely through unknown means. The method used for this remains unknown, but many have speculated it was achieved by causing the electronics to overheat to set off an explosive material that was added prior to the distribution of the devices. The attacks became a viral subject of discussions and memes on social media in mid-September 2024 as the story garnered international news coverage amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Background

On September 17th, 2024, at approximately 3:30 local time, multiple explosions took place in several areas in Lebanon, including Beirut's Dahieh suburb and Beqaa Valley where the group has a strong presence. The coordinated explosions affected pagers used for encrypted communication by Hezbollah militants. According to Lebanon's health ministry, nearly 2,750 people were injured by the explosions, and at least twelve people died, including a 10-year-old.^[1][2] The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon was also notably injured in the attack.

The attack involved the nearly simultaneous explosion of pager devices carried by Hezbollah militants, which some initially believed was triggered by the pagers overheating. However, later on September 17th as the story was picked up by news outlets around the world, many experts speculated that the method used did not involve overheating the devices but rather hardware tampering.^[9][10]

Following the explosions across the country, videos of the aftermath, including footage of injured people, were spread on social media, including Telegram, X / Twitter, Reddit and other sites.

Developments

That same day, September 17th, 2024, Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack, warning that the country "would be punished."^[2] Israel did not immediately comment on the attack and it's unconfirmed who was behind the operation.

According to military experts who weighed in on the story the day of, Israel had purportedly infiltrated Hezbollah's supply chain, rigging the communication devices with explosives.^[3][4]

On September 17th, 2024, Sky News Arabia reported that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad injected the devices with the explosive compound PETN before they reached Hezbollah and were distributed between its members in February 2024.^[5][6]

Al Jazeera reported that the weight of the explosive placed in the devices was below 20 grams.

Gold Apollo / BAC Consulting Investigations

While initial repots indicated that the pagers were manufactured by Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, the company refuted the allegation, stating that the pagers were manufactured by Hungarian company BAC Consulting KFT, who signed a licensing deal three years ago.^[14][15][16]

Further investigation into the company revealed that BAC Consulting KFT was of uncertain legitimacy, as was registered to a Budapest address where it did not have physical presence, and had only one listed employee on LinkedIn, its CEO Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono. In call with NBC, Bársony-Arcidiacono confirmed that the company worked with Gold Apollo, saying "I don't make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong". Later, Hungarian officials said that the pagers were not manufactured in the country.^[16][17]

Hand-Held Radio Explosions

On September 18th, 2024, 24 hours after the initial attack, it was then reported that hand-held radios (walkie-talkies) used by Hezbollah detonated in a follow-up attack across the south of Lebanon, including Beirut suburbs and the Bekaa Valley. During this event, Lebanon's health ministry claimed that 25 people were killed and another 700 were injured.^[11]

According to reports, the second wave off attacks targeted Icom walkie-talkies used by the Hezbollah militants,^[12] with a number of reports saying that smartphone devices, solar panels, radios, intercoms and car batteries were also targeted.^[13]

Online Reactions

The September 17th, 2024, attack carried out via explosive pagers became a subject of viral discussions on social media that day, in part due to the novelty of the tactic. Videos and photographs of the attacks and their aftermath were widely circulated online on Telegram, X and other platforms.

The attacks also notably became a viral subject of jokes and memes on social media. The way the perpetrators were able to access the devices became a popular subject of humorous speculations.

For example, on September 17th, 2024, X^[7] user @Kama_Kamilia posted an Awkward Look Monkey Puppet meme that received over 790 reposts and 11,000 likes in one day (shown below).

Various memes imagining the final messages pagers received before the explosion was set off were circulated. For example, an image created by X^[8] user @Pslcharlie and shared by user @MarinaMedvin (shown below) garnered over 5,700 reposts and 51,000 likes in one day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References