A comprehensive investigation by the Washington Post has unveiled one of the most sophisticated and successful infiltration operations in modern history against the Hezbollah terror organization. The report reveals how Israel managed to introduce thousands of booby-trapped communication devices and pagers into the organization's ranks, leading to severe casualties among an estimated 3,000 operatives and commanders.
According to the Post, Mossad exploited Hezbollah's fear of Israeli surveillance of regular communication devices, developing an intricate plan to introduce seemingly "secure" devices. "Hezbollah was looking for hack-proof electronic networks for relaying messages, and Mossad came up with a pair of ruses that would lead the terror group to purchase devices that seemed perfect for the job – equipment that Mossad designed and had assembled in Israel," according to Israeli, Middle Eastern and US officials.
Video: The scene of one of the explosions in Lebanon
The operation's first phase began in 2015 with the introduction of booby-trapped walkie-talkies into Lebanon. Per the report, "the mobile two-way radios contained oversized battery packs, a hidden explosive and a transmission system that gave Israel complete access to Hezbollah communications." For nine years, Israel reportedly contented itself with eavesdropping on these communications while reserving the option to detonate the devices in the future.
The more significant phase commenced in 2023 when Hezbollah began purchasing pagers manufactured by a Taiwanese company called Apollo. According to the investigation, "The sales pitch came from a marketing official trusted by Hezbollah with links to Apollo." This marketing official, whose identity remains undisclosed, was unknowingly acting as a Mossad agent.
The Post provides fascinating details about the engineering sophistication behind the booby-trapped pagers, "In a feat of engineering, the bomb component was so carefully hidden as to be virtually undetectable, even if the device was taken apart," adding that "Israeli officials believe that Hezbollah did disassemble some of the pagers and may have even X-rayed them," but failed to detect the hidden explosive.
Beyond the explosive, the pagers included a sophisticated detonation mechanism. "To ensure maximum damage, the blast could also be triggered by a special two-step procedure required for viewing secure messages that had been encrypted." An official explained, "You had to push two buttons to read the message," ensuring that the operatives would be holding the device with both hands when it exploded.
On Sept. 17, 2024, the charges were remotely detonated. "As many as 3,000 Hezbollah officers and members – most of them rear-echelon figures – were killed or maimed, along with an unknown number of civilians." The investigation also reveals the dilemmas and debates within Israeli leadership surrounding the activation of the explosives. According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the operation on Sept. 12, despite warnings from senior officials about potential escalation.
The Post reports that "The United States, Israel's closest ally, was not informed of the booby-trapped pagers or the internal debate over whether to trigger them."
