Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that Israel was behind the pager attack targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon. Netanyahu revealed that the coordinated attack involved explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, causing Lebanon to witness an unprecedented style of warfare. Netanyahu made the announcement during a weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday.
He also disclosed that Israel conducted the operation, known as “Pager Operation,” and that the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, along with this operation, was executed despite opposition from senior officials in Israel’s defense department. The attack, which targeted Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, resulted in the deaths of 39 people and injuries to around 3,000 others. Israel’s operation took place on September 17 and 18.
Beyond Lebanon, pagers of Hezbollah members in Syria were also detonated. The pagers and walkie-talkies were devices used by Hezbollah members for communication, and as part of a highly sophisticated plan, Israel executed an operation that caused these devices to explode simultaneously over two consecutive days. The attack marked one of the biggest setbacks in Hezbollah’s history, as Israel disrupted Hezbollah’s communication network.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group backed by Iran, has continued to use pager devices instead of mobile phones, assuming that the enemy could easily trace their location through mobile signals. Thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously, disrupting Hezbollah’s communication system. Hezbollah deemed this attack both unexpected and unprecedented, and subsequently accused Israel, their declared enemy, of carrying it out.
Pagers are electronic communication devices that were popular before mobile phones, capable of receiving and sending short messages and alerts. They operate via radio frequency from a base station, and a small display on the pager shows incoming messages.
Pagers are still used in emergency services because they are easy to use, have long battery life, and work even in areas without mobile network coverage. Hezbollah advised its members to use pagers instead of mobile phones when Israel began its assault on Gaza. Preliminary information suggested that the exploded pagers were from a Taiwanese company called Gold Apollo, which were new models Hezbollah had recently started using. Gold Apollo claimed it only provided the brand name and that another company manufactured the devices, according to a report by the international news agency Reuters.
