Israeli intelligence agency organizes operation to explode Hezbollah's pagers
Photo: Israeli intelligence services launched a powerful strike against Hezbollah (Getty Images)
Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, orchestrated a large-scale sabotage of pagers used by members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an operation that was prepared over an extended period, according to Reuters.
According to a high-ranking source within Lebanon's security services, Hezbollah ordered 5,000 pagers from the Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, which were imported into the country earlier this year. The source provided a photograph of the AP924 pager model, which, like other pagers, receives and displays text messages wirelessly but cannot make phone calls.
Hezbollah militants have been using pagers as low-tech communication devices in an attempt to avoid Israeli tracking of their locations. However, the Lebanese source said that the devices had been modified by the Israeli intelligence service at the production level.
"The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code. It's very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner," the Reuters stated.
The source also disclosed that 3,000 pagers detonated after receiving a coded message, which simultaneously activated the explosives.
Another security source told Reuters that up to three grams of explosives were hidden in the new pagers, which Hezbollah had not detected for months.
Images of the destroyed pagers, analyzed by the agency, showed the format and stickers on the back panel corresponding to pagers manufactured by Gold Apollo in Taipei, Taiwan.
Operation on explosions of Hezbollah's pagers
On Tuesday, September 17, pagers used by many Hezbollah members across Lebanon exploded almost simultaneously.
As a result of the operation, nine militants were killed, and at least 2,750 people were injured.
The blasts wounded many Hezbollah members. Footage from hospitals showed men with varying degrees of facial injuries, missing fingers, and deep wounds on their thighs, where they likely carried the pagers.
A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously, stated that the explosion represented the biggest security breach for the group since the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, which erupted on October 7, 2023.
Hezbollah leadership has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the operation.
The Israeli military has declared its readiness for any reprisals from the militants.
