‘Don’t Mess With Us’: Ex-Mossad Agents Make Sensational On-Air Revelation About Hezbollah Pager Plot – News18

Last Updated:December 23, 2024, 11:34 IST

Pager blasts and walkie-talkie explosions had rocked Lebanon in September this year. Israeli spy agency Mossad carried out one of most remarkable counterintelligence operations in world.

Hezbollah pager blast: Ex-Mossad agents detail Israel’s pager plot (Photo: AFP/CBS News)

The world witnessed the pager blasts that took place all over Lebanon in September this year, killing several Hezbollah terrorists and injuring around 3,000 others, including children.

However, the story behind one of the most daring and unimaginable counterintelligence operations was revealed by two senior retired Mossad agents who told their enemies “don’t mess with us”.

In an interview with CBS News, the two former agents, who were in the leading roles in the pager blast operation and walkie-talkie blast incident that followed the next day, detailed how they tricked Hezbollah into buying the devices from Israel and using them against terrorists.

The former agents revealed that the operation to trick Hezbollah into inflicting harm upon itself started 10 years ago with walkie-talkies which was used by Israel like a weapon. They said that the device was made in Israel by Mossad which fixed explosive devices inside the battery.

The ex-agents said that Hezbollah purchased over 16,000 exploding walkie-talkies. It was then up to Israel when to activate them, and they did not do it for 10 years, until three months ago.

When asked if Hezbollah was aware that they were buying the walkie-talkie from Israel, the former agents said, “Well obviously they didn’t know that they were buying it from Israel”.

They said that the Jewish country has an “incredible array of possibilities of creating foreign companies that have no way being traced back to Israel”.

They revealed that Mossad created a “pretend world” in which they are a “global production company”, where “world is our stage”.

How Did Idea Of Using Pagers As Explosives Come?

Since the walkie-talkies are only worn in battle, Mossad devised of developing such as device that would be there in Hezbollah terrorists’ pockets at all times – a pager.

“A pager is almost obsolete around the world, but Hezbollah still using it,” the former agents said.

The two ex-agents said that their team began working on developing the second phase of the operation in 2022. They had discovered that Hezbollah was buying pagers from a Taiwanese company, named Gold Apollo.

“So to make it into a bomb, we have to enlarge it a little bit. If we push the button the only one that will get injured is the terrorist himself,” the former agents told CBS News.

They said that the blasts would take place in such a manner that it would not harm the people sitting near the target. This was done to ensure minimal damage.

To ensure that Hezbollah members hold the pagers at the intended time of the blast, Mossad tested ringtones compelling enough for someone to take it out of their pocket. They also tested how long it took for a person to answer a pager.

How Did Mossad Manufacture Explosive Pagers?

The ex-agents told CBS News that Mossad wanted to use the name ‘Gold Apollo’ on its pager, for which it set up shell companies, “including one in this building in Hungary,” to dupe the Taiwanese into partnering with Mossad”.

They said that the Taiwanese company had “zero clue” that they were working with Mossad. “And neither did Hezbollah,” they said.

Mossad further fired Gold Apollo saleswoman who Hezbollah was used to working with. She made a lucrative offer of the first batch of pagers as an upgrade “free of charge”.

Hezbollah had bought 5,000 pagers by September 2024. Now, Israel was left with one question – when to activate both bombs – walkie-talkies and pagers.

As Mossad got hints that Hezbollah might be getting suspicious of the devices, Mossad head Dadi Barnea gave a nod for the explosives to go off.

On September 17, at 3.30 pm, pagers began beeping all over Lebanon, resulting in nationwide explosions. The very next day, Mossad finally activated the walkie-talkies that had been sleeping for 10 years in Hezbollah terrorists’ pockets. Some went off at the funerals of those killed by the pagers. Overall, around 30 people died while nearly 3,000 sustained injuries, marking one of the most daring operations of all time.

‘Don’t Mess With Us’: Ex-Mossad Agents Tell Enemies

The former agents said that the aim of the blast was not to kill Hezbollah terrorists.

“The aim, it wasn’t killing Hezbollah terrorists. If he’s just dead, so he’s dead. But if he’s wounded, you have to take him to the hospital, take care of him. You need to invest money and effort. And those people without hands and eyes are living proof, walking in Lebanon, of “don’t mess with us.” They are walking proof of our superiority all around the Middle East,” the ex-agents told CBS News.

They said that the day after the pagers went blasted, people were scared even to turn on the air conditioners across Lebanon as they were afraid of explosions.

“So there was — there is real fear,” the former agent said.

“We want them to feel vulnerable, which they are,” he added.

The ex-agents said that Mossad cannot use pagers again as it has already done it once. They said that the Israeli spy agency has “moved on to the next thing”.

“And they’ll have to keep on trying to guess what the next thing is,” they said.

Location :

Jerusalem, Israel