The documentary "Paging Hezbollah," directed by Justin Falk and set for release in the US on October 30, reveals new details about the secret Israeli operation that detonated thousands of Hezbollah pagers in September 2024 - including dramatic last-minute efforts to prevent the operation from being exposed.
The film reveals previously undisclosed information about how Israel acted behind the scenes when fears grew that Hezbollah was close to uncovering the operation.
According to the newly released details, Israeli officials became seriously concerned in the weeks before the operation that the plan had been compromised. In early August 2024, Israel’s security establishment discovered that a Hezbollah operative had begun to suspect the pagers distributed to members of the organization’s leadership and was preparing to examine them.
Israel responded by eliminating the operative in a targeted killing. To avoid arousing suspicion, however, the operation was deliberately carried out in a way that made it appear that another individual nearby was the intended target.
A second potential breakthrough for Hezbollah was also thwarted. Israel learned that Iran had sent an unusual shipment of advanced mirror machines to Lebanon designed to test the reliability and authenticity of the pagers.
The Israeli Air Force struck the shipment and destroyed the testing equipment. Once again, Israel concealed the true purpose of the operation, presenting the strike as part of routine intelligence activity aimed at thwarting Hezbollah.
The documentary features interviews with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Mossad chief David Barnea, former Northern Command chief Maj. Gen. Uri Gordin, and other key figures.
The filmmakers reveal how Israel managed to penetrate Hezbollah’s encrypted communications network through sophisticated engineering and deep infiltration of the terrorist organization’s international supply chain.