Israel hid explosives inside batch of pagers that Hezbollah recently ordered — NYT

Israel hid explosive material inside pagers that Hezbollah recently ordered from a Taiwanese company, according to a New York Times report that follows the mass detonation of the beepers.

Citing American and other unidentified officials, the report says the explosives were placed in the made by Gold Apollo before they were delivered to Lebanon, along with a switch so they could be set off remotely.

Two of the officials say the blasts were triggered Tuesday afternoon by a message sent to the pagers that appeared to be from Hezbollah leaders, with the beepers meant to sound for several seconds before detonating.

Over 3,000 pagers were included in the recent order, with the US newspaper reporting some of the devices were given to Hezbollah’s allies in Syria and Iran, while adding that the attack only affected those that were turned on and receiving messages.

It’s unclear when exactly Hezbollah placed the order and received the pagers, but the report notes leader Hassan Nasrallah’s remarks earlier this year instructing members of the Iran-backed group to ditch their cellphones due to concerns of Israeli eavesdropping.