After nearly a year of war between Israel and the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah, Lebanon was plunged into chaos in September when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah members exploded.
How two recently retired senior Mossad agents who spearheaded a years-long operation manufactured a device and got it into the hands of Hezbollah, changing the course of Israel’s escalating war with the Iranian-backed group. He talked about the inside story in detail. of transceiver and pager plot It had serious ramifications. Weakened Iran by leaving its proxy empire in ruins. hezbollah It was suppressed in Lebanon, and the Assad regime collapsed in Syria.
“We want them to feel vulnerable, and they are,” Michael, who spoke to 60 Minutes undercover and under a pseudonym, said. “We can’t use the pager again, because we’ve already done that. We’re already working on the next thing. And they have to keep guessing what the next thing is.” yeah.”
Weaponizing transceivers
Mossad’s walkie-talkie operation was about the war effort by deceit and trickeryin line with the spy agency’s motto. Work on weaponizing walkie-talkies began more than a decade before Israel fired them in September.
“Walkie-talkies were weapons, just like bullets, missiles, and mortars,” Michael said.
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Michael revealed that the walkie-talkie battery, which was manufactured at a Mossad facility in Israel, contained an explosive device. The transceiver was designed to fit into the chest pocket of a soldier’s tactical vest.
Hezbollah purchased more than 16,000 explosive devices, some of which were ultimately used against Hezbollah on September 18, Michael said.
“I got a good price,” Michael said.
Israel did not want to attract suspicion from Hezbollah, so the price could not be too low. Mossad also needed to hide its identity as a seller and ensure that the transceivers could not be traced back to Israel. So they set up shell companies to infiltrate the supply chain.
“We’re creating a make-believe world. We’re a global production company. We write the script, we’re the director, we’re the producers, we’re the stars.” Michael said. “And the world is our stage.”
From walkie talkies to pagers
The walkie-talkie was designed to be attached to armored tactical vests used in combat, but Mossad wanted to install a device that Hezbollah members could wear at all times. Gabriel, a former Mossad agent, said the agency began developing booby-trapped pagers in 2022. Gabriel agreed to speak to 60 Minutes while masked and using a fake name. Gabriel said Mossad learned that Hezbollah was purchasing pagers. gold apolloa Taiwanese company.
The gold Apollo pager was smooth and shiny and fit in my pocket. Gabriel said Mossad needed a larger pager to accommodate the explosives inside.
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Gabriel said the Mossad used a dummy to conduct a test by placing a pager inside a padded glove and holding it next to the dummy’s face, which produced a powder explosion sufficient to injure a fighter. He said he adjusted the gram weight of the object, but did so in a way that would not hurt the person next to him. The plan was to only harm Hezbollah members with their pagers, but not those nearby.
“We test everything three times, twice, multiple times to minimize damage,” Gabriel said.
Mossad said the devices had no intelligence capabilities and could not be used for tracking. They could only be used as small bombs.
“This is essentially a very stupid device. This is why they use it. There is almost no way to eavesdrop on it,” Gabriel said.
Mossad also tested pager ringtones. They wanted a sound with such urgency that someone had to take it out of their pocket, Gabriel explained. The spy agency also tested how long it takes to answer a pager. The average was 7 seconds.
Convince Hezbollah to buy pagers
Gabriel remembers the day he showed his pager to Duddy Balnea, head of the Mossad.
“And he was furious,” Gabriel said. “He told us, ‘No one would buy a device this big. It’s inconvenient to put in your pocket. It’s heavy.'”
The director sent Gabriel back to square one, but Gabriel spent the next two weeks successfully convincing his boss of the benefits of pagers.
These benefits were later touted in a fake ad on YouTube, touting the pager as rugged, dustproof, waterproof, and with long battery life. They also posted fake online testimonials.
“This has become the world’s best product in the buzzer category,” Gabriel said.
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Mossad was so successful in promoting the pagers that people outside of Hezbollah wanted to buy them, Gabriel said.
“Obviously we’re not sending it to anyone,” he said. “We just quote a high price.”
Mossad set up a shell company. HungaryGabriel said it was to trick Gold Apollo into cooperating. The spy agency manufactured pagers entirely and had a licensing partnership with Gold Apollo. For Hezbollah, it all needed to look legitimate.
“When they’re buying from us, they have no idea they’re buying from Mossad. We’re like ‘The Truman Show,’ everything is controlled by us behind the scenes. ,” Gabriel said. “In their experience, everything was normal. Everything was 100 percent kosher.”
To further the plot, Mossad hired a saleswoman from Gold Apollo, a frequent Hezbollah collaborator, but she was unaware that she was working with Mossad. According to Gabriel, she provided Hezbollah with the first batch of pagers for free as an upgrade. By September 2024, Hezbollah had about 5,000 pagers in its pockets.
Ring the pager and walkie-talkie
The question for Israel was when to activate the dormant bomb. There were indications that Hezbollah might have suspicions about the device, so Mossad Director Dadi Barnea gave the go-ahead, triggering the September 17 pager plot. At 3:30 p.m., pagers began ringing across Lebanon.
An explosion occurred and mayhem ensued. Hospitals were filled with injured people. Limbs and fingers were torn off. People were left bleeding, blind, and even with holes in their stomachs. Former Mossad operatives say the explosion went largely according to plan and injured only those with pagers. Several videos reviewed by 60 Minutes show individual people being injured by explosions while those next to them are unharmed.
“The day after the pager exploded, people in Lebanon were afraid to turn on the air conditioner for fear it would explode,” Michael said. “So there was real fear.”
The day after the pager attack, Mossad finally activated the transceivers that had been dormant for 10 years. Some went to the funerals of those killed with pagers.
A total of about 30 people, including two children, were killed in the two attacks. Approximately 3,000 people were injured.
Was Mossad’s plan a success?
The goal of the walkie-talkie and pager conspiracy was not to kill anyone, Gabriel said.
“If he’s just dead, then he’s dead,” Gabriel said. “But if he is injured, you have to take him to the hospital and take care of him. You have to invest money and effort. And people without hands and eyes are walking through Lebanon. Living proof, “Don” don’t mess with us. ”
Two days after the pager attack, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, known for his fiery speeches, gave a subdued speech. He looked defeated, Gabriel said.
“He has already lost the war. And his soldiers saw him during the speech, and they saw a broken leader,” Gabriel said. “This was the turning point in the war.”
In the days that followed, the Israeli Air Force attacked targets across Lebanon, killing more than 1,000 people, many of them civilians. On September 27, Israel dropped a large number of bombs on Nasrallah’s bunker, assassinating him. of Ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah It took effect at the end of November.
“But I think after this turning point with Operation Buzzer, walkie talkies, and the IDF attack, Hezbollah found itself in a very, very difficult situation. There was no chain of command, the spirit of the soldiers was gone, and there was no cease-fire. “I’m asking for and pleading for,” Gabriel said.
Michael agreed that after Operation Pager, the wind was taken out of Hezbollah’s sails. he hopes it will have an impact Hamas and the hostage crisis In Gaza.
“Because they’re looking to the side and there’s no one next to them looking,” Michael said. “They are completely isolated now.”
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