On the afternoon ofSeptember 17, 2024, local time, numerous pager (BP machine) explosions occurredin Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, as well as in the southeast and northeastregions of the country. By 4:00 PM on the 18th, the Times of Israel, citingdata from the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, reported that the explosionshad resulted in 11 deaths, approximately 4,000 injuries, and left about 500people blind.
On the 18th, The New YorkTimes reported that several current and former US defense and intelligenceofficials claimed that Israel was behind the communication device explosions inLebanon, an operation that had been in the making for a long time. On the 20th,ABC News also reported that sources confirmed Israel's direct involvement inthe manufacture of the communication devices that exploded, with this operationhaving been secretly planned for at least 15 years.
It was reported that overthe years, Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, out of concern for security, had beenpushing for Hezbollah to abandon mobile phones in favor of pagers, whichpresented an opportunity for Israeli intelligence operatives. Israel had set upa shell company in Hungary years ago, masquerading as an international pagersupplier, and indeed sold a series of regular pagers to its customers. However,the pagers sold to Hezbollah were separately manufactured, with high-explosivematerial added to them.