A sophisticated Israeli operation involving Mossad has been linked to a series of pager explosions that rocked Hezbollah strongholds across Lebanon, killing nine and injuring over 2,800. According to senior Lebanese security sources, the operation involved the planting of small explosives inside thousands of pagers ordered by Hezbollah.
The militant group ordered 5,000 pagers earlier this year, which were brought into Lebanon in the spring. The pagers, reportedly AR-924 models, were manufactured under licence by a Hungarian company, BAC Consulting KFT, using the branding of Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. While Gold Apollo provided the brand name, the manufacturing and design were entirely handled by BAC Consulting.
Israeli intelligence, reportedly through Mossad, is said to have modified the pagers “at the production level,” inserting up to 3 grams of explosive material near the batteries of the devices. The explosives went undetected by Hezbollah for months, until they were remotely detonated by a coded signal. The pagers, which wirelessly receive text messages, became deadly weapons, triggering widespread chaos and devastation across Lebanon.
Images of the destroyed pagers analysed by Reuters showed that the devices bore stickers and formats consistent with Gold Apollo branding. Gold Apollo’s founder, Hsu Ching-Kuang, has denied any direct involvement, explaining that his company had signed an agreement with BAC Consulting to use their brand under a private label, but did not oversee the production.
The blasts, which occurred simultaneously around 3:30 pm local time, have dealt a significant blow to Hezbollah’s operational capabilities and raised serious concerns about the group’s communication security. Israel has yet to officially comment on the incident, but the attack has been attributed to Mossad by multiple sources, including the New York Times and Reuters.
The investigation continues as Hezbollah vows retaliation, describing the incident as one of the largest intelligence breaches in its history. The explosions, which targeted key Hezbollah members, are believed to have been part of a pre-emptive Israeli move after suspicions were raised by Hezbollah operatives about the devices.
