Two retired senior Mossad agents revealed to CBS’ “60 Minutes”, in a report which aired on Sunday night, some details about the September operation in which thousands of walkie-talkies and pagers belonging to Hezbollah terrorists exploded.
The operation, years in the making, weaponized everyday devices Hezbollah members used routinely. "The walkie-talkie was a weapon, just like a bullet or a missile or a mortar," said Michael, one of the two agents who spoke anonymously to “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl.
Mossad began designing the explosive walkie-talkies over a decade ago. The devices, built at a Mossad facility in Israel, were equipped with batteries containing explosive mechanisms. Designed to fit into the chest pockets of tactical vests, these walkie-talkies were covertly sold to Hezbollah through shell companies posing as legitimate suppliers.
According to Michael, Hezbollah unknowingly purchased more than 16,000 of these devices, which were later used against them on September 18. "They got a good price," Michael added, explaining that the price was carefully calibrated to avoid arousing suspicion.
In 2022, Mossad shifted its focus to pagers—devices Hezbollah terrorists carried at all times. Former Mossad agent Gabriel, who also spoke with “60 Minutes” anonymously, revealed that the agency discovered Hezbollah was sourcing pagers from Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company.
Mossad used this opportunity to design booby-trapped pagers that could discreetly harm their targets.
The pagers were built larger than typical models to accommodate explosives. Mossad conducted extensive testing to calibrate the devices, ensuring they would injure only the targeted individual without harming nearby bystanders.
"We test everything, triple, double, multiple times in order to make sure there is minimum damage," Gabriel stressed.
Despite initial skepticism from Mossad Director David Barnea about the pager’s size, Gabriel convinced his superiors of its effectiveness.
Fake advertisements and online testimonials portrayed the pagers as robust, dustproof, waterproof, and long-lasting, making them highly appealing to Hezbollah terrorists. By September 2024, Hezbollah had unknowingly distributed about 5,000 of these pagers to its members.
Mossad activated the booby-trapped pagers on September 17, creating chaos across Lebanon as explosions injured thousands of Hezbollah terrorists.
"A day after the pagers exploded, people were afraid to turn on the air conditioners in Lebanon because they were afraid that they would explode," Michael recounted.
The following day, Mossad activated the walkie-talkies, many of which detonated during funerals for those killed in the pager explosions.
"The aim of the walkie-talkie and pager plot wasn't to kill people," Gabriel explained. "If he's just dead, so he's dead. But if he [is] wounded, you have to take him to the hospital, take care of him. You need to invest money and effort. And those people without hands and eyes are living proof, walking in Lebanon, of 'don't mess with us.'"
The psychological and logistical blow to Hezbollah was significant. Two days after the attacks, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah delivered a subdued speech that Gabriel described as reflecting defeat.
“If you look at his eyes, he was defeated. He already lost the war. And his soldiers looked at him during that speech. And they saw a broken leader. I don't know if you know that Nasrallah, when we operate the beeper operation, just next to him in the bunker, several people had a beeper receiving the message. And in his in own eyes, he saw them collapsing,” Gabriel said.
The attacks set the stage for intensified Israeli strikes, which culminated in the elimination of Nasrallah himself.
"This was the tipping point of the war," Gabriel concluded.