Israel Reportedly Embedded Explosives in Hezbollah’s Pagers Ordered from Taiwan

On September 18, The New York Times reported that Israel targeted Hezbollah by embedding explosives in pagers imported from Taiwan, Anadolu Agency revealed on Wednesday.

According to U.S. and other officials, the pagers, primarily the AP924 model from Gold Apollo, were tampered with before reaching Lebanon. Each pager contained one to two ounces of explosive material placed near the battery, equipped with a remote detonator.

At 3:30 p.m. local time, pagers received a message appearing to come from Hezbollah’s leadership, which instead triggered the explosives, resulting in simultaneous detonations. The attack killed at least nine individuals, including a child, and injured approximately 2,750, with 200 in critical condition, as reported by Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad.

Hezbollah attributed full responsibility to Israel and promised retaliation. The U.S. stated it was not involved and was unaware of the incident beforehand. This explosion occurred amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, coinciding with a severe Israeli offensive in Gaza that has resulted in over 41,200 deaths, predominantly among women and children, since Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023.