Regular-looking pagers delivered to Hezbollah at the beginning of 2024 were, in fact, cleverly concealed bombs. This operation, suspected to be orchestrated by Israel, aimed to cripple the Lebanese group.
According to a detailed report by Reuters journalists, the pagers’ batteries held a small but potent charge of plastic explosive. A novel detonator, invisible to X-ray scanners, was also incorporated into the design according to a Lebanese source with firsthand knowledge and teardown photos reviewed by Reuters.
Creating a Believable Cover Story
To address the weakness of having no established background for this bulky new product, Israeli agents crafted fake online stores, webpages, and posts designed to deceive Hezbollah’s security checks. A Reuters examination of archived web data confirms this elaborate deception.
Unprecedented Blow to Hezbollah
This meticulously planned operation, with its stealthy pager bomb design and the battery’s carefully constructed cover story, sheds light on the years-long effort that dealt a heavy blow to Israel’s Iranian-backed foe in Lebanon. The attacks have also pushed the Middle East closer to a full-blown war.
Dissecting the Deceptive Battery
The seemingly ordinary pager battery held a dark secret. A thin sheet of PETN plastic explosive (six grams) was squeezed between two rectangular lithium-ion cells, according to the Lebanese source and photos. The remaining space housed a highly flammable strip that triggered detonation. This three-layer “sandwich” was then encased in a black plastic sleeve and a metal shell, roughly the size of a matchbox.
A key aspect of the design was the absence of a standard metallic detonator. This, along with the plastic explosives, made the device invisible to X-ray scans.
Hezbollah Unaware of the Threat
Upon receiving the pagers in February, Hezbollah conducted standard security checks, including running them through airport scanners. Alarmingly, nothing suspicious was detected. The devices were likely designed to generate a spark within the battery pack, igniting the flammable material and detonating the PETN explosives, as explained by bomb experts who reviewed the pager bomb design.
The bulky battery, however, offered a clue. The explosives and their casing took up about a third of the volume, significantly reducing the battery’s power capacity. Battery experts noted this discrepancy, highlighting a substantial amount of unexplained weight in the battery pack.