# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/101 "2024-09-17T17:24:50Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And who uses pagers these days? Haven’t they been entirely replaced by cell phones?) “In February, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, urged its fighters to get rid of their smartphones, saying Israel could use them for surveillance” cite [https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hundreds-of-hezbollah-operatives-pagers-explode-in-apparent-attack-across-lebanon-cf31cad4?mod=hp\_lead\_pos1](https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hundreds-of-hezbollah-operatives-pagers-explode-in-apparent-attack-across-lebanon-cf31cad4?mod=hp_lead_pos1) The Israeli press is reporting that the pagers were new models, recently delivered to Hezbollah. (No, I don’t know what a “new model” of a 1980’s technological device is.) ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/102 "2024-09-17T17:47:49Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > The Israeli press is reporting that the pagers were new models, recently delivered to Hezbollah. (No, I don’t know what a “new model” of a 1980’s technological device is.) A new model is a pager with a little Mossad surprise inside, of course! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/103 "2024-09-17T17:51:23Z")
The Mossad would have had to detonate the pagers fairly soon after they arrived in Hezbollah hands, because every day that went by would be a day risking discovery and then the jig would be up (all it would take would be for one out of thousands of users to open up the device for maintenance or repair some day and then the mini-bomb might be noticed by someone who knows electronics.) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/104 "2024-09-17T18:08:58Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Any chance Mossad could have found the source of their pagers and preloaded them with explosive materials/devices before they were procured by Hezbollah? This still looks like an April 1st hoax to me? I suppose an alternative conspiracy theory is that Hezbollah equipped their members with pagers packed with explosives to make them into involuntary suicide bombers? It seems very dubious to me. ---
**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 17, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/105 "2024-09-17T18:30:13Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > This still looks like an April 1st hoax to me? Hoaxing that would be neatly as clever and complicated as actually doing it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/amP9O9cDpe8/maxresdefault.jpg "Watch: SHOCKING moment dozens of Hezbollah members are injured by EXPLODING pagers in Lebanon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amP9O9cDpe8) I’m impressed, but this is the country that managed to damage Iran’s nuclear program [with a computer virus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/106 "2024-09-17T18:36:58Z")
Detonation footage in that video starts at 2:20, for those interested. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/107 "2024-09-17T18:59:22Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Any chance Mossad could have found the source of their pagers and preloaded them with explosive materials/devices before they were procured by Hezbollah That seems to be the current theory; though I don’t believe it’s been confirmed. > [@Hamas attacks Israel, October 2023](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hamas-attacks-israel-october-2023/991234/598): > > who uses pagers these days? Haven’t they been entirely replaced by cell phones? They were apparently using pagers because they can’t be effectively used to record or photograph conversations/meetings/etc. Should be a gift link to the Washington Post (my cite for both of the above): [https://wapo.st/47w2EF9](https://wapo.st/47w2EF9) ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2024, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/108 "2024-09-17T19:09:23Z")
That, and the date. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/109 "2024-09-18T01:16:11Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > all it would take would be for one out of thousands of users to open up the device for maintenance or repair some day and then the mini-bomb might be noticed by someone who knows electronics.) One of the advantages, I hear, of the AK-47/74 is that they do not require a lot of cleaning. You think terrorists are going to maintain pagers? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/110 "2024-09-18T01:17:45Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > They were apparently using pagers because they can’t be effectively used to record or photograph conversations/meetings/etc. With what phones to they respond to the pages? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/111 "2024-09-18T01:27:37Z")
They don’t. They get a page that says (123) 456-7890 (for example; I don’t know what Lebanese phone numbers look like), and they reference the single-use cipher they’ve got in their pocket to figure out that that means “The guns will be arriving at Dock 15 in crates labelled “fresh bananas”” or something of that nature. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/112 "2024-09-18T01:40:01Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > they reference the single-use cipher they’ve got in their pocket to figure out that that means “The guns will be arriving at Dock 15 in crates labelled “fresh bananas”” or something of that nature. Again, good point. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/113 "2024-09-18T01:41:02Z")
Oh holy shit 😢 ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/114 "2024-09-18T02:54:24Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > That seems to be the current theory; though I don’t believe it’s been confirmed. Yahoo News link, apologies if it is repeating other links but it does indicate that the pagers were sabotaged _during production_: > **[Israel planted explosives in Hezbollah's Taiwan-made pagers, sources say](https://www.yahoo.com/news/israel-planted-explosives-hezbollahs-taiwan-000753845.html)** > > Israel's Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside 5000 Taiwan-made pagers ordered by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday's detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters. The details... > “The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner,” the source said. I have to say, I like this approach a lot more than the ham-fisted “bounce the rubble” strategy in Gaza. This is some old school Mossad right here. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/115 "2024-09-18T03:55:50Z")
How long before TSA prohibits pagers on airline flights? ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/116 "2024-09-18T11:44:32Z")
I’d imagine that (at least for a while) any time they spot one in an x-ray of your stuff, they’ll be swabbing it for explosives. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/117 "2024-09-18T15:14:31Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > PAGERS exploding??? > > I almost think this has to be a hoax. What is there in a pager that is explosive? My first thought was, “People are still using pagers?” ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/118 "2024-09-18T15:15:51Z")
They stopped using cell phones because they feared that the network had been compromised. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/119 "2024-09-18T15:18:23Z")
And they were right. Cell phones are easily compromised and easily tracked. Pagers ~~are~~ were much more secure. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395/120 "2024-09-18T15:25:26Z")
Second round, this time two-way radios exploded. [https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-planted-explosives-hezbollahs-taiwan-made-pagers-say-sources-2024-09-18](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-planted-explosives-hezbollahs-taiwan-made-pagers-say-sources-2024-09-18) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exploding-pagers-in-lebanon-2024-09-17/1007395.md?page=7)