The New York Times recently reported that the wireless pagers, which exploded simultaneously in the hands of Hezbollah members on Tuesday, were manufactured in Taiwan and rigged with explosives by Israel before arriving in Lebanon. These explosions injured about 2,800 people and killed at least nine.
Casualties and Responsibility
The explosions caused the deaths of nine people and left around 2,800 injured, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. The blasts occurred across multiple locations in Lebanon in what has been described as an unprecedented attack. Both Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for the incident, but Israel has not officially commented.
Tampered Devices and Their Origin
U.S. officials and other unnamed sources reported to The New York Times that Taiwanese company Gold Apollo manufactured the pagers. Israel allegedly tampered with the devices by planting small explosives in them before they were shipped to Lebanon.
A Hezbollah insider confirmed that Hezbollah had recently imported 1,000 pagers, which seemed to have been “compromised.” However, The New York Times noted that Gold Apollo had shipped about 3,000 devices, mostly of the model “AP 924.”
Confirmed Death Toll
Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad stated that the explosions caused the deaths of nine individuals, including a child.
Expert Analysis
Military and security analyst Ilia Manieh suggested that Israel likely infiltrated the pager supply chain to conceal explosives within the shipment. He speculated that Israeli intelligence may have added explosive components and remote activation mechanisms during production without raising suspicion.
Manieh further suggested that the third party responsible for selling the devices could have acted as a “front for Israeli intelligence” to carry out the operation. This event underscores the risks of compromised supply chains and the potential for technological manipulation in such attacks.
