Lebanon pager attacks: In an unprecedented security breach, Israel’s Mossad spy agency reportedly planted small amounts of explosives inside 5,000 Taiwan-made pagers ordered by Hezbollah, leading to devastating explosions across Lebanon on Tuesday.
The Reuters quoted a senior Lebanese security source, along with another source, to confirm the operation by Israel. The blasts killed nine people and wounded nearly 3,000 others, including Hezbollah fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
The explosive devices were embedded within pagers Hezbollah had been using as a low-tech communication method to evade Israeli tracking. The attack marks a significant infiltration by Israeli intelligence into Hezbollah’s operations. The group has since vowed retaliation, though Israel has declined to comment on the incident.
Explosive Devices Hidden in Pagers
According to sources, the pagers were made by a company in Europe that used the brand of Gold Apollo, a Taipei-based firm. Hsu Ching-Kuang, the founder of Gold Apollo, stated that while the pagers bore his company’s brand, they were not directly manufactured by them. The model identified in the attack was the AP924, a type of pager that receives and displays text messages but does not make phone calls.
The senior Lebanese security source revealed that Israel’s Mossad modified the pagers at the production level, injecting a board with explosive material, around three grams.
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This hidden mechanism could be remotely triggered with a coded message. Around 3,000 of these devices exploded simultaneously when a coded signal was sent, inflicting massive casualties. “It’s very hard to detect it through any means,” said the source, explaining why the explosive material had gone undetected by Hezbollah for months.
Hezbollah’s Response and Security Breach
The incident is seen as one of Hezbollah’s most significant counterintelligence failures. “This would easily be the biggest counterintelligence failure that Hezbollah has had in decades,” commented Jonathan Panikoff, former US deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East.
More than 1,000 Hezbollah terrorists were seriously injured after their Pager set exploded simultaneously. It seems Israel hacked their devices and caused this…
Israel never fails to amaze… https://t.co/gaiNvOhAjD
— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) September 17, 2024
Hezbollah was already on high alert following the recent Gaza conflict and had been attempting to address gaps in its intelligence infrastructure. In February, Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah warned members about the risks posed by mobile phones and instead promoted the use of pagers. However, the group’s reliance on this alternative form of communication ultimately led to the devastating Lebanon pager attacks.
Rising Tensions in the Region
The blasts come amidst rising tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, especially since the Gaza conflict began last October. A barrage of missiles launched by Hezbollah following the October 7 Gaza attack has since led to daily cross-border exchanges. While Hezbollah has expressed that it does not seek a wider war, the growing confrontation with Israel has raised concerns of a regional conflict involving Iran and the United States.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently emphasized to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that diplomatic options with Hezbollah were dwindling, indicating a potentially perilous situation along Israel’s northern border.
Deep Intelligence Penetration
The success of the pager operation showcases the depth of Israeli intelligence within Hezbollah’s ranks. “It demonstrates Israel’s ability to infiltrate its adversaries in a remarkably dramatic way,” remarked Paul Pillar, a veteran of the US intelligence community.
The full extent of the fallout from this operation remains uncertain, as Hezbollah reels from the blow. Nonetheless, the attack signals a new phase in the ongoing hostilities, emphasizing the significant penetration capabilities of Israel’s intelligence services within its adversary’s operations.
