# Exploding Pagers in Lebanon {2024-09-17} **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 17, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395 "2024-09-17T18:27:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/61 "2024-09-18T07:50:28Z")
That makes a lot of sense (from the Israeli standpoint). ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/62 "2024-09-18T08:09:12Z")
The company that sold them has stated that the pagers [were actually made](https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-exploding-pagers-hezbollah-syria-ce6af3c2e6de0a0dddfae48634278288) in Budapest, Hungary. > Taiwanese company Gold Apollo said Wednesday that it authorized its brand on the [pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria](https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-hezbollah-israel-exploding-pagers-8893a09816410959b6fe94aec124461b) but that another company based in Budapest manufactured them. Since Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary is a known ally of Benjamin Netanyahu, it seems plausible that’s where the bombs were installed and how they got access in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/63 "2024-09-18T08:58:38Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > This NYT article has more info [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-pagers-explosives.html) and answers many of the questions in this thread. I’m sure it’s paywalled, but it came up for me for some reason. Here is a gift link to the article: [gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-pagers-explosives.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Lk4.7I2I.fWCY-mPLuDi5&smid=url-share) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/64 "2024-09-18T09:40:07Z")
I doubt it. You want to keep an op secret, you don’t tell a corrupt Eastern European government about it. ---
**Author:** ![Chelonaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9a140/32.png) [@Chelonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/65 "2024-09-18T09:50:32Z")
I’m a bit surprised that pagers are that useful to Hezbollah. Don’t they need a dedicated transmitter of some sorts within a few miles of each pager? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/66 "2024-09-18T09:50:46Z")
@Alessan , as an Israeli, do you feel any personal danger in any way? I hope you never suffer any, but I’ve been wondering. I’m remembering an old friend from Northern Ireland. His father was plenty pissed off when his local pub was bombed by the IRA. Thankfully, his father was not there at the time, but it happened. Do such things affect you or yours? I hope you’re okay, at any rate. We need your voice here on the SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/67 "2024-09-18T10:01:26Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > This NYT article has more info Thanks for this! I think it answers any questions I have and I really appreciate all the posts here, mostly keeping to the topic. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/68 "2024-09-18T10:57:41Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I doubt it. You want to keep an op secret, you don’t tell a corrupt Eastern European government about it. I doubt they really cared about it being kept secret, just that Hezbollah not find out about it _in time._ ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/69 "2024-09-18T12:24:42Z")
This article suggests the pagers were not made in Taiwan by the brand Gold Apollo, but by what looks like a shell company set-up in Hungary for one purpose, and using the brand name as cover… > **[Tracking the exploding pagers used in apparent Israeli attack on Hezbollah](https://www.npr.org/2024/09/18/g-s1-23547/tracking-the-exploding-pagers-used-in-attack-on-hezbollah)** > > Gold Apollo denied all involvement with the explosive pagers, telling NPR outside its offices in Taiwan that it was a Budapest-based company called BAC Consulting which manufactured the devices. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/70 "2024-09-18T12:36:52Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Since Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary is a known ally of Benjamin Netanyahu, it seems plausible that’s where the bombs were installed and how they got access in the first place. There’s really no need to involve anyone in the government and as @Alessan said it would be huge risk. The only complicated part of this scheme is maintaining secrecy. The rest is ODM outsourcing 101. > [@Broomstick](#): > > Here is a gift link to the article: [gift link](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/17/world/middleeast/israel-hezbollah-pagers-explosives.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Lk4.7I2I.fWCY-mPLuDi5&smid=url-share) Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/71 "2024-09-18T12:57:21Z")
In time for Orban to call his friend Putin, for Putin to call his friend Khamenei, and for Khamenei to pass the intel down to Hezbollah… so, like, 15 minutes? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/72 "2024-09-18T13:30:03Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > Some observations/thoughts: > > - pagers don’t transmit, so microphones make no sense; power requirements alone… I had a pager like twenty years ago and as I remember, we could transmit very short coded replies; like an acknowledgement. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/73 "2024-09-18T13:32:30Z")
Yeah. I could see Orban’s unknowing participation in this, but they wouldn’t trust him with anything important. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/74 "2024-09-18T13:37:01Z")
Yeah, I was too terse. _Some_ pagers are/were two-way but Hz specifically said they were going to pagers because they were using one-way devices that thus weren’t trackable. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/75 "2024-09-18T13:45:00Z")
From that NYTimes article, this strikes me as implausible: “The explosive material, as little as one to two ounces…” Really? An extra ounce in a pager that’s only 133 g (4.7 oz) seems like it’d be pretty noticeable. I mean, clearly it happened—maybe that’s why they got suspicious and Israel had to send the 321BOOM! Or maybe it wasn’t that much; if you can make it kinda explode and spill the LION contents, maybe that’s enough? A bit of water in a packet included with the explosive? I forget the details of LION but ISTR that water is a Very Bad Idea. /me makes a note to get specs on next cellphone he buys and to weigh it upon receipt to make sure it’s not a bit overweight… ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/76 "2024-09-18T13:48:13Z")
Read my link above. 15g of explosive was enough to kill a bomb-maker with a cellphone bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/77 "2024-09-18T14:03:53Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > An extra ounce in a pager that’s only 133 g The one it was claimed to be was only 95 grams, battery included. But the company had apparently taken down the product page after the explosions, which is why I had to go with the [archive.org](http://archive.org) link. It makes me wonder if the published model specifications themselves were part of a trap–anyone other than Hezbollah attempts to order it they get an “out of stock” and the specs _really_ mean “only 95 grams, battery and explosives included”. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/78 "2024-09-18T14:11:28Z")
Interesting. I got that 133g from a search, which doesn’t mean it’s right–but hey, if they’re supposed to be 95g, 38g of explosive would be plenty, as beowulff notes! ---
**Author:** ![Running\_with\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Running\_with\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Running_with_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/79 "2024-09-18T14:17:42Z")
Also, pagers are receivers only. Adding the ability to transmit audio would require a complete redesign. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/80 "2024-09-18T14:20:30Z")
Again, these may have been one-way pagers, but two-way pagers have been a thing for a while. From Wikipedia, “A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response pagers and two-way pagers can also acknowledge, reply to, and originate messages using an internal transmitter.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395.md?page=5)