Israel was working on pager attack for 10 years, Hezbollah bought 5000 gadgets trusting the salesgirl

New Delhi: As soon as the pager blasts happened in Lebanon on September 17, not only Iran-backed Hezbollah but the whole world was shocked. Thousands of pagers suddenly started exploding in Lebanon, killing many people. After these pager attacks, the tension between Iran and Israel kept increasing.

Now another revelation has been made about these pager attacks
The Washington Post report states that the plan to bug the walkie-talkies used in Lebanon on September 17 was started in early 2015. The report states that the pagers and beepers that exploded in the first phase in Lebanon were made in Israel in 2022 and were quietly mixed in the Apollo supply line without the knowledge of the company. When a saleswoman convinced Hezbollah that the pager-walkie-talkies were impossible for Israel to monitor, its operatives bought 5,000.

“The woman was in contact with Hezbollah and explained to them why the larger pager with the bigger battery was better than the original model,” an Israeli official briefed on the operation told The Washington Post. Hezbollah began distributing the pagers in February, but some were delivered just a day before the attack.

Israel waited a decade
A previous Reuters report said the pagers and walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon for the second time had been in use for nearly a decade. The walkie-talkie batteries contained a highly explosive material called PETN and surveillance equipment. For nine years, Israeli intelligence agencies used radio to listen in on Hezbollah operations and waited to use them in a future emergency. With tensions rising in the north, there was growing apprehension that the trap laid like a Trojan horse would be discovered.

This is how the secret plan was executed
The Washington Post claims that senior level Israeli security officials were unaware of the plan until a few days before its execution. Once officials realised that the risk of conflict in the northern part of the country was increasing, they decided to go ahead with the top secret plan. Hezbollah officials with pagers received a message saying that an encrypted message was coming and they had to press two buttons, thus ensuring maximum damage to them.