Another source with more info: https://nationalpost.com/news/iranian-ambassador-to-lebanon-lost-eye-pager-blast-hezbollah
Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon lost one eye and suffered serious injury to the other when a pager he was carrying exploded on Tuesday
It’s because they don’t use the same wireless networks as phones and have like a 96h battery life. That’s why hospitals give them to doctors. And plenty of people still use walkie-talkies because they work (within a certain range) even when nothing else does.
Also, the pager companies are still in business mostly because of the pucks you get at a restaurant that buzz when your table or food is ready. “Obsolete” tech that’s dirt cheap can sometimes hang around for niche use cases.