WASHINGTON (AP) — Two just lately retired senior Israeli intelligence brokers shared new particulars a couple of lethal clandestine operation years within the making that focused Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and Syria utilizing exploding pagers and walkie talkies three months in the past.
Hezbollah started hanging Israel virtually instantly after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault that sparked the Israel-Hamas war.
The brokers spoke with CBS “60 Minutes” in a phase aired Sunday night time. They wore masks and spoke with altered voices to cover their identities.
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One agent mentioned the operation began 10 years in the past utilizing walkie-talkies laden with hidden explosives, which Hezbollah did not understand it was shopping for from Israel, its enemy. The walkie-talkies weren’t detonated till September, a day after booby-trapped pagers have been set off.
“We created a fake world,” mentioned the officer, who glided by the title “Michael.”
Part two of the plan, utilizing the booby-trapped pagers, kicked in in 2022 after Israel’s Mossad intelligence company discovered Hezbollah had been shopping for pagers from a Taiwan-based firm, the second officer mentioned.
The pagers needed to be made barely bigger to accommodate the explosives hidden inside. They have been examined on dummies a number of occasions to search out the correct quantity of explosive that may damage solely the Hezbollah fighter and never anybody else in shut proximity.
Mossad additionally examined quite a few ring tones to search out one which sounded pressing sufficient to make somebody pull the pager out of their pocket.
The second agent, who glided by the title “Gabriel,” mentioned it took two weeks to persuade Hezbollah to modify to the heftier pager, partially by utilizing false advertisements on YouTube selling the units as dustproof, waterproof, offering an extended battery life and extra.
He described the usage of shell firms, together with one based in Hungary, to dupe the Taiwanese agency, Gold Apollo, into unknowingly partnering with the Mossad.
Hezbollah additionally was unaware it was working with Israel.
Gabriel in contrast the ruse to a 1998 psychological movie a couple of man who has no clue that he’s dwelling in a false world and his household and buddies are actors paid to maintain up the phantasm.
“When they’re shopping for from us, they’ve zero clue that they’re shopping for from the Mossad,” Gabriel mentioned. “We make like ‘Truman Present,’ all the pieces is managed by us behind the scene. Of their expertise, all the pieces is regular. Every little thing was 100% kosher together with businessman, advertising, engineers, showroom, all the pieces.”
By September, Hezbollah militants had 5,000 pagers of their pockets.
Israel triggered the assault on Sept. 17, when pagers all over Lebanon started beeping. The units would explode even when the particular person did not push the buttons to learn an incoming encrypted message.
The following day, Mossad activated the walkie-talkies, a few of which exploded at funerals for a number of the roughly 30 individuals who have been killed within the pager assaults.
Gabriel mentioned the objective was extra about sending a message than really killing Hezbollah fighters.
“If he simply useless, so he’s useless. But when he’s wounded, it’s a must to take him to the hospital, care for him. It’s essential to make investments cash and efforts,” he mentioned. “And people individuals with out arms and eyes live proof, strolling in Lebanon, of ‘don’t mess with us.’ They’re strolling proof of our superiority throughout the Center East.”
Within the days after the assault, Israel’s air drive hit targets throughout Lebanon, killing hundreds. Hezbollah’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah, was assassinated when Israel dropped bombs on his bunker.
By November, the warfare between Israel and Hezbollah, a byproduct of the lethal assault by Hamas militants in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, ended with a ceasefire. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas militants, well being officers have mentioned.
The agent utilizing the title “Michael” mentioned that the day after the pager explosions, individuals in Lebanon have been afraid to activate their air conditioners out of worry that they might explode, too.
“There’s actual worry,” he mentioned.
Requested if that was intentional, he mentioned, “We wish them to really feel weak, which they’re. We will’t use the pagers once more as a result of we already did that. We’ve already moved on to the subsequent factor. They usually’ll must carry on attempting to guess what the subsequent factor is.”
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