Explosive device attacks in Lebanon and Syria
On 17 and 18 September 2024, thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies intended for use by Hezbollah exploded simultaneously in two separate events across Lebanon and Syria, in an Israeli attack nicknamed Operation Grim Beeper. The attack killed at least 42 people, including at least 12 civilians. The estimates of the number of injured ranged from 1,500 Hezbollah fighters (according to an unnamed Hezbollah official) to 4,000 civilians (according to Moustafa Bayram, Minister of Labour and a member of Hezbollah). Victims had injuries including losing fingers, hands, and eyes, as well as brain shrapnel. The incident was described as Hezbollah's biggest security breach since the start of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict in October 2023.
The first wave of explosions on 17 September targeted pagers, killing at least 12 people, including two Hezbollah members and two children, and wounding more than 2,750, including Iran's ambassador to Lebanon. The second wave on 18 September targeted Icom walkie-talkies, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 750. The 150 hospitals across Lebanon that received victims of the explosions experienced chaotic scenes.
Seven months before the explosions, Hezbollah's secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah instructed the group's members to use pagers instead of cell phones, claiming Israel had infiltrated their cell phone network. About five months before the explosions, Hezbollah purchased Gold Apollo AR-924 pagers. The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad had secretly manufactured and integrated the explosive PETN into the devices, and sold them to Hezbollah through a shell company. International officials and scholars of the law of war have debated the legality of the attacks, with critics suggesting they might constitute war crimes or acts of terrorism.
Responding to the attacks, Nasrallah described the explosions as a "major blow" and labeled them an act of war, possibly a declaration of war by Israel. Initially Israel denied involvement, but in November 2024 Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted Israeli responsibility. Following the explosions, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant announced a "new phase" of the war in northern Israel and Lebanon had begun. Hezbollah vowed retaliation, launching a rocket attack on northern Israel a few days later that struck cities such as Nazareth and Kiryat Bialik, injuring several civilians. Ten days after the device explosions, Israel assassinated Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut. On 27 November, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon went into effect, although some attacks continue.
Background.
Hezbollah is opposed to Israel and was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Shortly after the onset of the Israel–Hamas war in October 2023, Hezbollah joined the conflict, citing solidarity with Palestinians. This quickly escalated into regular cross-border military exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel, impacting northern Israel, southern Lebanon and the Golan Heights. Hezbollah said it aimed to pressure Israel by forcing it to fight on two fronts. Hezbollah has offered an immediate ceasefire should a ceasefire also happen in Gaza, where 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, with at least half identified as women and children. From 8 October 2023 to 20 September 2024, Hezbollah has launched 1,900 cross border attacks, and Israel has launched another 8,300. The fighting killed 564 in Lebanon (including 133 civilians) and 52 in Israel (including 27 civilians), displacing entire communities in both countries, with significant damage to civilian infrastructure.
On 10 September, the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel was shifting its focus from Gaza to the northern border. Israel's domestic security agency, Shin Bet, announced it had thwarted a Hezbollah plot to assassinate a former senior defense official using an explosive device, and "The Jerusalem Post" speculated that the pager explosions may have been in retaliation.
Use of pagers.
While popular in the late twentieth century, pagers have since largely been replaced by cell phones, except in hospitals. Some Hezbollah members had used pagers for years before the 7 October attacks, but more members began using them after February 2024, when Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah called on members to stop using smartphones, citing Israel's capability to infiltrate them. Hezbollah subsequently imported the pagers to Lebanon in the months before the explosion. Reuters was told that the explosives were not detected despite checks and the pagers were still being distributed immediately before the attack.
In 2015, Mossad began planting booby-trapped walkie-talkies in Lebanon, which secretly allowed Israel to monitor Hezbollah communications while holding the option to detonate them. For nine years, Israel limited its use of these devices to surveillance. However, in 2023, a new tactic emerged with the introduction of explosive-laden pagers which Hezbollah unknowingly purchased.
The exploding pagers were the AR924 model by the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, which met Hezbollah's requirements for devices capable of operating for months without needing to be recharged, and could be recharged with a cable. This model is not available for sale in Taiwan nor the United States, and the ministry's figures recorded no direct exports of any Gold Apollo-manufactured pagers from Taiwan to Lebanon during the same period. Indirect exports via third parties could not be ruled out.
Gold Apollo denied making the pagers, explaining that they were made and sold by Budapest-based BAC Consulting Kft., which had a licensing agreement with Gold Apollo for the previous three years. Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said BAC's payments were "very strange", arriving via the Middle East. Taiwanese police opened an investigation into Gold Apollo's involvement, searched four locations in Taipei and New Taipei City, and questioned two individuals. Both Economic Minister J.W. Kuo and Premier Cho Jung-tai denied the pagers were made in Taiwan. German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) visited BAC's official address in Budapest but found only a sheet of paper on the door with the company name; the doorbell was not answered. DW cited the "New York Times", which reported that BAC and at least two other shell companies were part of an Israeli front, intended to obscure links to Israeli intelligence officers. The CEO of BAC Consultancy said they were intermediaries, not involved in manufacturing the devices.
BAC Consulting CEO Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono acknowledged working with Gold Apollo, but stated "I don't make the pagers. I am just the intermediate [sic]." Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács said BAC Consulting "is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary. It has one manager registered at its declared address, and the referenced devices have never been in Hungary."
"The New York Times" reported that the Israeli intelligence operated BAC Consulting and created two other unnamed shell corporations to hide their involvement. The pagers produced for Hezbollah had batteries that integrated of the explosive PETN in such a way that it would have been extremely difficult to detect. Israeli officials believe that Hezbollah did in fact disassemble the pagers for inspections, and may have even scanned them with x-rays, yet were unable to detect the explosive materials. The explosive could not be detected by an airport security check.
Sky News quoted Lebanese security officials saying that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 devices. Israeli agencies have previously carried out operations involving explosive communication devices—notably the assassination of Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash in 1996.
Explosions.
First wave.
On 17 September 2024 at around 15:30 EEST, many pagers across Lebanon and Syria unexpectedly exploded in an apparently coordinated attack on Hezbollah members, many of whom were seriously wounded. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, the vast majority of those who came to emergency rooms were in civilian clothing and their Hezbollah affiliation was unclear.
Facial and eye injuries were the most common effect of the explosions and, according to Tracy Chamoun, the pagers emitted a sound to encourage users to pick the devices up and lift them to their heads. Other reports say that the device vibrated and showed an error message on the screen, and only detonated when the user pressed a button to clear the error, increasing the chance that the operator of the device would be holding it.
The explosions occurred in several areas where Hezbollah has a strong presence, including its stronghold of Dahieh in Beirut; southern Lebanon; and the Beqaa Valley near the Syrian border, where explosions were reported in the towns of Aali en Nahri and Riyaq. In Syria, explosions of pagers were also reported in Damascus and its vicinity. Blasts reportedly continued for up to 30 minutes after the initial detonations, intensifying the resulting chaos.
Witnesses reported seeing multiple individuals with bleeding wounds in the aftermath of the blasts. In one instance, an explosion occurred inside the trouser pockets of a man standing outside a shop. Photos and videos circulating on social media and local media from Beirut's southern suburbs showed individuals lying on the ground with injuries on their hands or near their pockets.
Around 150 hospitals received victims of the attack, which saw chaotic scenes. Hospitals in southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley, and Beirut's southern suburbs were overwhelmed with patients, many suffering from injuries to the face, hands and waist. In response, the Ministry of Health advised individuals with pagers to dispose of them and instructed hospitals to remain on "high alert". It also called on health workers to report to work and asked them not to use wireless devices. The state-run National News Agency appealed for blood donations. Ambulance crews were deployed from the northern cities of Tripoli and Al-Qalamoun to help in Beirut.
The attack came just a day after the Biden administration's special envoy Amos Hochstein visited Israel and warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against provoking a major escalation in Lebanon. Just before the blasts, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant told the US defense secretary Lloyd Austin that an operation was planned in Lebanon.
Second wave.
At around 17:00 EEST on 18 September, about 24 hours after the initial attack, a second wave of explosions occurred, targeting handheld radios.
Explosions were reported in Beirut, the Bekaa Valley, and southern Lebanon. The explosions also caused fires in at least two homes. Other explosions occurred at a funeral held in Beirut for three Hezbollah members and a child who had been killed by the initial explosions. Lebanese Civil Defense said it responded to fires in at least 71 homes and shops, including a lithium battery store in Majdel Selm, as well as 15 cars and numerous motorcycles. These fires were triggered by explosions in various locations across Nabatieh Governorate.
One compromised device was discovered inside an ambulance outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC) and neutralized in a controlled explosion by the Lebanese Army. Hezbollah supporters reportedly prevented journalists from filming the incident at the AUBMC. The Lebanese Red Cross dispatched 30 ambulances to transport victims in the affected areas.
The targeted devices were reported as Icom IC-V82 VHF walkie-talkies, known to be used by Hezbollah. Manufacture of the IC-V82 model ceased in 2014, and Icom had previously issued an advisory warning about counterfeit radios, including the IC-V82. The company said on 19 September that it was conducting an investigation and, two days later, announced that it was "highly unlikely" that the radios were theirs. A sales executive at Icom's US subsidiary said the transceivers involved appeared to be "knockoff" (counterfeit) products.
Other electronic devices, such as fingerprint biometric devices, were also reported to have exploded, though it remains unclear whether those devices caught fire from other explosions or detonated on their own.
In the aftermath of the second wave of explosions, a group of men attacked United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon vehicles in Tyre, before Lebanese armed forces intervened.
Deaths and injuries.
Deaths.
As of 22 September 2024[ [update]], the death toll from the attacks was 42, including at least 12 civilian deaths. At least 12 people were killed in the first wave of attacks, including civilians such as two health workers, a 9-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. In the second wave on 18 September, at least 30 people were killed and 750 others were injured. The adult son of Ali Ammar, a Hezbollah member of Parliament was killed; Lebanon's Prime Minister Najib Mikati visited southern Beirut to pay his respects.
Injuries.
On 20 September 2024, it was reported that more than 3,500 people were injured. An unnamed Hezbollah official told Reuters 1,500 Hezbollah fighters were taken out of action by injuries.
On 17 September Health Minister Firass Abiad said the vast majority of those being treated in emergency rooms were in civilian clothing and their Hezbollah affiliation was unclear, but casualties included elderly people as well as young children. As of 18 September, it was unclear if only Hezbollah members were