History of Pagers Timeline

Beginning around the start of the twenty-first century, pagers were largely replaced by cell phones. Hospitals remained an important exception, continuing to use pagers because of their reliability in certain clinical environments.

Image source: Pager

Icom issued an advisory warning about counterfeit radios, including the IC-V82. The warning became relevant in discussions of the authenticity and provenance of communication devices associated with the 2024 attacks.

Image source: Icom Incorporated

Manufacture of the Icom IC-V82 model ceased in 2014. Icom had previously issued an advisory warning about counterfeit radios, including the IC-V82, a detail examined in reporting about the communications-device explosions.

Lebanese health minister Firas Abiad said the scale of the pager attack was greater than the 2020 Beirut explosion, one of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

The incident was described as Hezbollah's biggest security breach since the beginning of the Israel–Hezbollah conflict in October 2023. The coordinated compromise of communications equipment exposed a major vulnerability.

Thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies intended for Hezbollah exploded simultaneously in two events across Lebanon and Syria. The Israeli attack was nicknamed Operation Grim Beeper.

At approximately 15:30 EEST on 17 September 2024, many pagers across Lebanon and Syria unexpectedly exploded in an apparently coordinated attack on Hezbollah members. Many victims were seriously wounded.

The second wave of explosions added to the casualties caused by the pager detonations. The devices affected included walkie-talkies associated with Hezbollah communications.

On 18 September 2024, hundreds of walkie-talkies exploded in a second, separate event across Lebanon and Syria. Together with the previous day's pager detonations, the incidents became known as Operation Grim Beeper.

Eight days before his assassination on 27 September, Hassan Nasrallah called the attack a severe blow and described it as unprecedented for Hezbollah, Lebanon and possibly the region.

On 20 September 2024, reports said that more than 3,500 people had been injured in the explosions. The injuries resulted from the simultaneous detonations of pagers and other communication devices.

As of 22 September 2024, the reported death toll from the pager and walkie-talkie attacks was 42.

On 22 September 2024, Israeli President Isaac Herzog denied out of hand that Israel was involved in the explosions. Israel had initially neither confirmed nor denied responsibility.

On the same day as Herzog's denial, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if Hezbollah had not understood the message, it would understand the message.

On 1 October 2024, Israel launched a new ground invasion into Southern Lebanon. It was described as the sixth invasion of Lebanon since 1978.

Image source: 2024 Lebanon war

Lebanon filed a complaint against Israel with the International Labour Organization on 6 November 2024. Labour minister Mustafa Bairam cited the threats posed by the explosions to workplace safety.

On 10 November 2024, Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel was responsible for the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, confirming what had previously been widely attributed to Israel.

During his trip to the United States in February 2025, Benjamin Netanyahu gifted United States president Donald Trump a commemorative golden pager, referencing the operation.

Image source: Benjamin Netanyahu

In April 2025, three Mossad agents involved in the operation were selected to light a torch on Mount Herzl. The ceremony kicked off Israel's 77th Independence Day.

In early 2026, the Taiwan Court dismissed a lawsuit connected with the communications-device affair because the legal documents did not comply with Taiwanese law.