Small amounts of explosive were implanted in beepers that Hezbollah had ordered from a Taiwanese company, according to American and other officials briefed on the operation.

Israel carried out its operation against Hezbollah on Tuesday by hiding explosive material within a new batch of Taiwanese-made pagers imported into Lebanon, according to American and other officials briefed on the operation.

The pagers, which Hezbollah had ordered from Gold Apollo in Taiwan, had been tampered with before they reached Lebanon, according to some of the officials. Most were the company’s AP924 model, though three other Gold Apollo models were also included in the shipment.

The explosive material, as little as one to two ounces, was implanted next to the battery in each pager, two of the officials said. A switch was also embedded that could be triggered remotely to detonate the explosives.

MBFC
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  • @Agent641English
    17•1 day ago

    I wonder how many pager carriers were on planes at the time?

    • @theyoyomasterEnglish
      6•1 day ago

      Depending on what airports they tried to go through they likely would have been caught. Even garbage security theater like the TSA catches concealed explosives fairly well.

      • @[email protected]English
        2•1 day ago

        Could you imagine going through security and then getting arrested for trying to carry explosives onto a plane?

        • @theyoyomasterEnglish
          7•1 day ago

          I feel like it would be pretty quickly determined that you are the “victim” in that scenario. I have actually carried explosives through a TSA checkpoint before though; it was the BEST LAYOVER EVER. They came to the lounge I was in asking for volunteers to train the dogs and then handed me a backpack with semtex in it and put me in line. The dog found me, I told him he was a GOOD BOY and got to throw his kong for him and rub his belly. 45/10, would layover again.

          • @FarFarAwayEnglish
            2•20 hours ago

            That happen to a person in our group in Australia, but with cocaine. We were waiting to collect our baggage before customs. The officers told them to put it in thier waistline and see if the dog would sniff it out. Pups was sucessful and got some pets. He didn’t have a Kong tho.

    • @[email protected]English
      2•1 day ago

      I assume they use the cell phone network these days, so any in flight probably weren’t able to receive the signal. On board but not at elevation is a pretty small window, so the number could be as small as zero.