Hezbollah got suspicious, Israel pushed the button: Why pagers exploded in Lebanon at 3.30pm on Tuesday

Exclusive: The National uncovers the story behind the timing of the attacks that rocked Lebanon to its core

Lebanese troops prepare to destroy a communication device found on the ground in southern Lebanon, after 37 people were killed in blasts involving pagers and walkie-talkies. AFP

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The pagers from a recent shipment began overheating and their batteries were not lasting as expected.

For Hezbollah, it was time for an investigation. For Israel, it was time to detonate them.

The daring operation, which killed 37 people and injured thousands with explosives hidden in handheld communication devices, marks one of the most significant moments in the conflict between the two sides since October 8.

For security officials in Beirut and elsewhere, however, it was a bold and dramatic act akin to a high-stakes thriller involving complex cyber warfare and intelligence tactics, which only adds to its intrigue.

“It’s scary,” said one Lebanese security official.

The official and other security sources revealed details of the operation that shook Lebanon on Tuesday with exploding pagers and again on Wednesday with walkie-talkies rigged to detonate.

Shortly after the conflict with Israel began, following the Hamas attacks on October 7 and the start of the Gaza war, many Hezbollah members started relying on pagers and other dated communication technology to avoid detection. Despite this, Israel, with its extensive network of ground agents, managed to locate and assassinate several commanders and fighters in southern Lebanon and the in the eastern Bekaa area.

Its intelligence supremacy reached a pinnacle in July when it killed the group’s senior military commander Fuad Shukr in a strike on Beirut.

This marked the most significant breach of the powerful Iran-backed group's security – until Tuesday at 3.30pm, when the dramatic scenes of pagers exploding in pockets and hands began circulating in the media.

“The Lebanese security agencies assessment is that the pagers and the walkie-talkies were all from the same shipment, bought from the black market, through the same broker,” said one of the security officials. "However, we don’t know who this broker was. There are, of course, many unanswered questions regarding this broker. But it is very difficult for us to identify them because the affected party [Hezbollah] won’t disclose their identity to anyone, of course."

The pagers were labelled with the name of Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, while the walkie-talkies bore the branding of Osaka-based Icom.

Icom confirmed its IC-V82 device was produced and exported globally, including to the Middle East, between 2004 and October 2014. The device was discontinued a decade ago and Icom warned that counterfeit versions have since been widely sold in international markets.

Gold Apollo's chief executive and founder said he felt like a "victim" after the European company BAC Consulting, based in Hungary, was granted a licence to use the Gold Apollo name in specific regions.

Google indexed BAC Consulting’s website more than a decade ago, with the company described as “actively involved in international relations, examining social sciences and humanities through a global lens". However, attempts by The National to reach the company using the listed phone number were unsuccessful.

Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono, the company’s chief executive, is listed on its website and has a LinkedIn profile. In a phone call with NBC News, Ms Barsony-Arcidiacono denied direct involvement, stating: “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediary. I think you’ve got it wrong.”

As of Wednesday morning, BAC's website was offline and the company's listed address appeared to be a residential street in Budapest. “The identity of the broker is probably the most sensitive and important piece of this puzzle,” the security source stressed.

According to the source, who has access to classified investigations, the joint assessment of the Lebanese security agencies is that the devices were rigged “with a small amount of an unknown type of explosives either at the storage place in Budapest or even in Israel”.

“The bigger probability is that they took them to Israel, rigged them with explosives, and then sent them back to the storage location before Hezbollah shipped them to Lebanon,” the source added.

While the security official stated that the exact nature of the explosives remains unclear, Sky News Arabia quoted sources who identified the substance as the highly explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate usually found in military detonators.

“The battery won’t explode. We are sure that these devices were rigged with small amounts of explosives, which is very hard to identify. It was very small, but the effect was big,” another security official said.

Security sources in Beirut who are close to the investigation said Hezbollah members could still use older pagers and walkie-talkies, and that the latest shipment is believed to have been the only one with devices rigged with explosives.

The timing of the attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Israel announced it was shifting its focus to the war with Hezbollah, which has forced tens of thousands of Israelis to abandon their homes in the north of the country. The government stated it was determined to change the situation, while the heavily armed militant group declared it would not stop attacking Israel until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

To set off the explosions, Israel triggered the pagers to beep and sent a message to them in Arabic that appeared as though it had come from Hezbollah’s senior leadership, The New York Times reported on Thursday. But the story of the timing is much more intriguing.

“The security assessment is that this operation was planned to happen alongside an Israeli ground invasion, but they had to do it because they got indications that the whole thing would be uncovered soon,” explained a senior source involved in an official investigation.

“Some of the devices were showing errors regularly and heating up, and the battery wasn’t lasting for more than an hour when it should last for much more, maybe 10. These encounters were increasing and a decision by Hezbollah was about to be made to investigate them. 'This is when the detonation happened.”