Declassified: Uncovering the Secrets of Hezbollah’s Mysterious Pager
Lebanon Explosion: 9 Killed, 2,800 Injured in Pager Device Blast
On Tuesday, a devastating explosion in Lebanon resulted in the loss of 9 lives, including a young girl and two Hezbollah members, with over 2,800 people injured, mostly with hand injuries, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.
The blast affected pager-type communication devices used by various Hezbollah organizations in the southern suburbs of Beirut and southern Lebanon.
Lebanese government and military sources attributed the “cyber and hostile” attack to Israel, although Israel did not claim responsibility for the explosion.
According to Reuters, citing a Lebanese security source, the targeted pagers were “the latest model they received in the last few months.”
What are Pagers and How Do They Work?
A pager, also known as a beeper or whistle, is a wireless communication device that receives and displays alphanumeric text or voice messages and emits a sound when it receives a signal.
Although pagers are not as widely used as they were in the 1990s, they are still used by some workers in public safety and health services due to their reliability and simplicity.
The name “Pager” was coined by Motorola, which developed the device by combining walkie-talkie and car radio technology in a transistorized pager.
How Was Hezbollah’s Communication Device Hacked?
A military source suggested that portable wireless communication devices operating on a specific wave were hacked, leading to the explosion and hundreds of casualties in Lebanon on Tuesday.
The Rise and Fall of Pagers
Here is a timeline of the rise and fall of pagers:
- 1921: The Detroit Police Department first used a pager-like system with police cars.
- 1950s: Pagers became relevant in healthcare when the Jewish Hospital in New York City began using them.
- 1959: Motorola coined the name “Pager” for the device.
- 1970s: Developers added tones and voice pagers that enabled users to send and receive voice messages.
- 1980s: Pagers were widely used and reflected the social status of the wearer.
- 1994: Pagers became relevant in personal communication.
Why Are Pagers Still Used Today?
Despite the rise of smartphones, pagers are still used by many professionals, including emergency medical technicians, firefighters, doctors, and healthcare professionals, due to their reliability, simplicity, and speed.
Pagers are also used by bird watchers and military organizations due to their difficulty in being tracked and their ability to lack context when exchanging text and voice messages.
Types of Pagers
There are several types of pagers, including:
- Alert-only devices
- Digital pagers that can send numbers
- Alphanumeric pagers that can send written and digital messages
- Two-way pagers that can send and receive messages with a direct reply feature
- Voice pagers that can exchange voice messages
The type of pager used varies depending on the user’s needs and the type of messages they want to exchange.