Israel just pulled off an anti-terrorist mission that could have come straight out of a James Bond spy novel. The country’s foreign intelligence unit, Mossad, managed to put explosive charges in more than 5,000 pagers (old-fashioned “beepers” like those that doctors used to carry) that ended up in the pockets and on the belts of terrorists with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.
All of a sudden, thousands of the devices exploded in the pockets of the wearers on September 17, dealing a huge blow to the network’s confidence and manpower. At least a dozen people have been killed by the small blasts, which went off simultaneously, apparently triggered by a phone call. Thousands of people were wounded, according to health officials in Lebanon.
The following day, even more small electronic communication devices exploded across southern Lebanon. The country’s health ministry said Wednesday’s blasts killed another 14 people and left several hundred injured.
Hezbollah, which has been attacking Israel with hundreds of missiles originating from Lebanon, immediately blamed the Jewish nation. While the Israeli military has not explicitly taken responsibility for the pager explosions, the consensus is nearly universal that it was the work of Mossad. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant dropped a hint by saying the military had recently had some “excellent achievements.”
Israel is dealing with two facets of a war at the same time. Hamas, the terrorist organization that governs the Gaza strip, invaded Israel in October of 2023. The group sent militants over the border and they slaughtered more than 1,000 civilians, mostly young people attending an outdoor music festival. Israel declared war on Hamas immediately.
At the same time, the Iran-backed Hezbollah just over the border in Lebanon has been unrelenting in their missile attacks on Israel since the Hamas conflict began.
It is difficult to get accurate casualty numbers in the early days after such attacks, and political allegiances also color what officials from various sides will tell the public.
Reporters on the ground in Lebanon say the country is in shock as the pagers went off wherever a Hezbollah militant happened to be, including at fruit stands and in public markets and stores.
Firas Abaid, a health official in Lebanon, said most people were injured in the eyes, legs, face, hands, and abdomen.
