Former Israeli agent reveals how Hezbollah carried out attacks using pagers

Two former Israeli intelligence agents have revealed how members of the Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah used Israeli-made radios rigged with explosives for 10 years before they were detonated in a surprise attack. in September this year.

Two former Mossad agents told America’s CBS News how the agency tricked Hezbollah into buying thousands of rigged radios and pagers without realizing they were made in Israel.

Dozens of people were killed and thousands injured in the attacks. Lebanese officials said Israel said it was designed to target only Hezbollah members, but that civilians were also among the victims.

The United Nations human rights chief called the attack a war crime.

At the time of the attack, Israel and Hezbollah were fighting in a conflict that had escalated since Hezbollah opened fire on Israeli positions a day after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

On September 17, 2024, thousands of pagers simultaneously exploded across Lebanon, mainly in areas with a strong Hezbollah presence. The explosion injured or killed the user and several people nearby, causing panic and confusion. The next day, the radio exploded in the same way, killing and injuring hundreds more.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Israel was responsible two months later, Israeli media reported at the time.

In an interview with the BBC’s US broadcasting partnertwo former agents revealed details about the operation.

One of the agents named Michael said Mossad had hidden an explosive device inside the battery that operated the radio, which he said was often carried in a vest near the wearer’s heart.

He said Hezbollah unwittingly bought more than 16,000 walkie-talkies at a “bargain price” from a fake company 10 years ago.

“We have an incredible amount of ability to create foreign companies that have no way of being traced back to Israel,” Michael said. “Shore companies more than shell companies will impact the supply chain in our favor.

“We create a world of make-believe. We are a global production company. We write the script, we are the directors, we are the producers, we are the main actors and the world is our stage.”

CBS said the practice expanded two years ago to include pagers.

Mossad discovered that at that time Hezbollah was purchasing pagers from a Taiwanese company called Gold Apollo. It established a fake company using the name Gold Apollo on pagers rigged with explosives without the parent company’s knowledge.

CBS said Mossad placed explosives inside strong enough to only injure the user.

“We triple check everything, double check, multiple times to make sure there is minimal damage,” said the second agent, whom the show calls Gabriel.

It said the Mossad had specifically chosen a ringtone that sounded urgent enough for someone to check for incoming messages.

Gabriel said the agency tricked Hezbollah into buying pagers, making commercials and promotional materials and sharing them on the internet.

“When they buy from us, they have no idea that they are buying from the Mossad,” he said. “We do that [movie] Truman Show, everything is controlled by us backstage.”

CBS said Hezbollah purchased 5,000 trapped pagers in September 2024.

They said they were activated from Israel when Mossad feared Hezbollah was becoming suspicious.

The explosion sent shock waves across Lebanon, with explosions occurring everywhere pagers were transported, including in supermarkets. Hospitals were filled with casualties, many of whom were disabled.

Gabriel said there were “strong rumors” that people were also victimized in front of then-Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

A few days later, with Hezbollah still reeling from the attack, Israel began intense air strikes against Hezbollah targets, followed by a ground invasion of Lebanon.

The two sides agreed to a ceasefire on November 26.

Lebanon strongly condemned the pager and walkie-talkie attacks, while the United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, said they left him “terrified”.

The method of attack “violates international human rights law and international humanitarian law where applicable”, he said.