5000 devices prepared
Insider: Mossad smuggled explosives into Hezbollah pagers
18.09.2024, 05:17
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Lebanon is in shock after the concerted explosion of thousands of pagers. Insiders describe in detail how the Israeli secret service is said to have turned Hezbollah’s communication devices into deadly weapons. There is no official confirmation.
According to insiders, before the pagers exploded in Lebanon, the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad had prepared thousands of the devices with explosives months before they were delivered to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. In 5,000 pagers from the Taiwanese Manufacturer Gold Apollo A small amount of explosives had already been hidden during production, a senior Lebanese security official and another person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
“The Mossad has planted a circuit board with explosives and a code in the device. It is very difficult to detect this by any means, even with devices or scanners,” said the security official. The 5,000 pagers were ordered from Gold Apollo by the Lebanese Hezbollah group and brought into the country earlier this year. 3,000 of the pagers exploded on Tuesday when an encrypted message was sent to them, which simultaneously activated the explosives.
Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a design and stickers on the back that matched pagers made by Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo. The company’s founder, Hsu Ching-Kuang, denied allegations that his company made the pagers used in the explosions. “The product was not ours. It just bore our brand name,” he said.
Licensee in Europe is said to have manufactured model Gold Apollo
According to Hsu, the pagers were manufactured by a company in Europe that has the right to use the Taiwanese company’s brand. He did not name the company. Gold Apollo was also a victim of the incident. “We are a responsible company. This is very embarrassing,” he said.
Hezbollah fighters use pagers as a simple means of communication to evade tracking by Israel on smartphones. According to insiders, the modified devices entered the country at the beginning of the year and remained undetected for months. The explosions killed nine people and injured almost 3,000 – including numerous Hezbollah fighters and the Iranian ambassador in Beirut. Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, announced retaliatory strikes against Israel. When asked, the Israeli military did not want to comment on the incidents.