At least 39 members of Iran-backed Hezbollah were killed and close to 3,000 injured following a series of explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies across Lebanon during an Israeli operation in mid-September. Explosions on September 17 and 18 originated from explosives secretly planted by Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency in devices ordered by Hezbollah months earlier.
Two retired Mossad agents claimed that this operation was started more than ten years ago and that the tactics had been approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to one of the agents, identified only as Michael, the walkie-talkie was a weapon intended to make Hezbollah feel vulnerable.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has intensified since the outbreak of war in Gaza after Hamas’s attacks on October 7 last year. That violence has killed more than 4,000 people, including high-profile targets like Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, and displaced tens of thousands on both sides.
Michael said the batteries for those adapted pagers were manufactured in Israel and had explosive devices inside. It is reported that over 16,000 such devices were sold to Hezbollah, thus causing its own casualties. Mossad employed shell companies to disguise its identity as a supplier, setting up an appearance of legitimacy.
According to Gabriel, at the time a Mossad operative, ” these devices were manufactured as pouches inside combat vests.”. In-depth testing guaranteed most of the intended targets with less collateral damage from the blast. About 5,000 of these pagers are with Hezbollah as of September 2024.
This was not a strategy of outright fatalities, but rather one to injure them to a degree that would overstretch Hezbollah’s resources. As Gabriel explained, the visible injuries among Hezbollah members would be a stark reminder of the consequences of engaging with Israel: “Those people without hands and eyes are living proof, walking in Lebanon, of ‘don’t mess with us.’
