On Tuesday afternoon in Lebanon, pagers across the country began beeping, alerting Hezbollah terrorists of a message from leadership. But it wasn't from leadership, of course, and you know what happened next. At least a dozen died in the initial explosion, with more than 2,700 injured. The attack wasn’t over yet though as the following day, walkie-talkies exploded, killing 20 and wounding hundreds more.
Years prior, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah had instructed operatives to do away with cell phones, fearful that Israel could use networks to determine locations and other compromising information. But even before his directive, Israel was one step ahead and had devised a plan to open a shell company that served as an international pager producer, according to reporting from The New York Times.
By all appearances, B.A.C. Consulting was a Hungary-based company that was under contract to produce the devices on behalf of a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. In fact, it was part of an Israeli front, according to three intelligence officers briefed on the operation. They said at least two other shell companies were created as well to mask the real identities of the people creating the pagers: Israeli intelligence officers.
B.A.C. did take on ordinary clients, for which it produced a range of ordinary pagers. But the only client that really mattered was Hezbollah, and its pagers were far from ordinary. Produced separately, they contained batteries laced with the explosive PETN, according to the three intelligence officers.
The pagers began shipping to Lebanon in the summer of 2022 in small numbers, but production was quickly ramped up after Mr. Nasrallah denounced cellphones.
Some of Mr. Nasrallah’s fears were spurred by reports from allies that Israel had acquired new means to hack into phones, activating microphones and cameras remotely to spy on their owners. According to three intelligence officials, Israel had invested millions in developing the technology, and word spread among Hezbollah and its allies that no cellphone communication — even encrypted messaging apps — was safe anymore. […]
Over the summer, shipments of the pagers to Lebanon increased, with thousands arriving in the country and being distributed among Hezbollah officers and their allies, according to two American intelligence officials.
To Hezbollah, they were a defensive measure, but in Israel, intelligence officers referred to the pagers as “buttons” that could be pushed when the time seemed ripe.
That moment, it appears, came this week. (The New York Times)
As one Jerusalem Post columnist noted, the operation did much more than just disrupt communications among the terror group. Its success was psychological in nature: "Their mindset will never be the same. They will no longer view a refrigerator, microwave, or light bulb in the same way. Until their last day, they will never feel safe, no matter where they are. They will live in constant fear of what might explode next."
