Mossad's Covert Operation: Exploding Pagers Against Hezbollah

Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency, orchestrated a covert operation targeting Hezbollah. The plan involved selling 5,000 booby-trapped pagers disguised as Taiwanese-branded Apollo devices. Hezbollah, wary of Israeli surveillance, believed these pagers were secure.

In February, Hezbollah distributed the pagers to mid-level fighters. On September 17, Mossad remotely detonated the devices, killing or injuring up to 3,000 Hezbollah members and an unknown number of civilians. The pagers were designed to explode when users attempted to decrypt a message, ensuring maximum casualties.

This operation was part of a broader strategy. Mossad had previously infiltrated Hezbollah with similarly rigged walkie-talkies, which had been used for eavesdropping until the crisis. The success of the pager attack led Israel to launch airstrikes on Hezbollah's headquarters and arsenals, further weakening the group.

The operation demonstrated Mossad's ingenuity and Hezbollah's vulnerability. It underscored the high stakes of intelligence warfare in the Middle East.