In a devastating blow to Hezbollah, Israel’s Mossad spy agency allegedly planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers imported by the Lebanese militant group, months before their detonation on Tuesday.
According to a senior Lebanese security source and several others who spoke to Reuters, the unprecedented operation resulted in explosions across Lebanon, killing nine people and wounding nearly 3,000, including Hezbollah fighters and Iran’s envoy to Beirut.
The plot, months in the making, represents a significant security breach for Hezbollah, marking what is being described as the group’s “biggest counterintelligence failure in decades.”
The pagers, identified as the AP924 model, were produced by a company with rights to use the Taiwanese Gold Apollo brand. The firm denied manufacturing the devices, stating they were produced by another company, BAC, which is licensed to use its trademark.
The explosives were reportedly planted during the production process, a feat described by Lebanese officials as nearly impossible to detect. Around 3,000 of the devices were remotely triggered via a coded message, causing simultaneous explosions across the country.
While Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement, Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for what it called Tuesday’s “massacre.” A Hezbollah statement said that “the resistance will continue its operations to support Gaza,” while warning Israel to expect harsh consequences.
This attack has shaken Hezbollah and its leadership as the group grapples with its most significant breach of security since the onset of the Gaza conflict with Hamas on October 7.
Jonathan Panikoff, a former U.S. intelligence officer, noted, “This would easily be the biggest counterintelligence failure that Hezbollah has had in decades.”
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