Pagers, once thought to be outdated, have gained renewed attention following a series of explosions in Lebanon.
These devices, utilized by Hezbollah, exploded throughout the country, resulting in at least 12 fatalities and injuring over 3,000 individuals, as reported.
Hezbollah has accused Israel of rigging the pagers with explosives, although neither side has officially confirmed this allegation.
What Are Pagers?
Pagers, commonly referred to as beepers, are compact, wireless devices that receive messages through radio signals.
Invented in 1921, they gained popularity during the 1980s and 1990s as a dependable communication tool.
While their usage has declined with the advent of mobile phones, pagers are still prevalent in certain sectors, like healthcare, where their reliability and extended battery life remain valuable.
There are primarily two types of pagers: one-way pagers, which can only receive messages, and two-way pagers, which can both send and receive communications.
Pagers offer a degree of privacy and security that modern smartphones lack, as they do not feature GPS or Bluetooth capabilities, thus reducing traceability.
Why Do Pagers Remain in Use?
Despite the prevalence of smartphones, pagers continue to play a vital role in specific industries.
Emergency services, hospitals, and certain paramilitary groups continue to depend on them for their reliability, particularly in locations with weak mobile networks or during natural disasters when cellular communication can become compromised.
In healthcare, pagers are favored for their functionality in noisy settings and their resistance to internet-based vulnerabilities.
Pagers also offer enhanced privacy, which is why groups like Hezbollah prefer them for internal communications.
These devices generate a smaller digital footprint compared to mobile phones, thereby lowering the risk of hacking or surveillance.
Hezbollah’s Usage of Pagers and the Recent Explosions
In the recent incidents, pagers used by Hezbollah militants across Lebanon began to overheat and explode simultaneously, leading to turmoil and injuries.
Hezbollah has claimed this was a coordinated attack orchestrated by Israeli intelligence.
The explosions have sparked inquiries into whether the pagers were tampered with or if the incidents were related to defects in their lithium batteries.
According to Hezbollah, the scale and timing of the blasts indicate deliberate sabotage.
Why Are Pagers Beneficial for Hezbollah?
Hezbollah, a paramilitary organization, continues to favor pagers due to their lower traceability compared to mobile phones, which provides a layer of operational security.
These devices are straightforward, reliable, and effective in areas with limited mobile coverage, aligning well with Hezbollah’s requirements.
While the group has shifted from using mobile phones to evade potential Israeli surveillance, the pager explosions reveal that even this older technology can be susceptible to sabotage.
There is speculation that the explosions may have resulted from tampered devices or battery malfunctions.
Gold Apollo, the company behind the pagers used in Lebanon and Syria, has disclosed that the production of these beepers was handled by a firm based in Budapest.