In a major attack that claimed the lives of at least nine people, including an eight-year-old girl, and injured nearly 3,000 others, explosive pagers detonated simultaneously across Lebanon on Tuesday.
The coordinated blasts were the result of a sophisticated, months-long operation by Israel targeting members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
According to intelligence officers quoted by the New York Times, Israel had established a shell company in Hungary called B.A.C Consulting, which posed as an international pager producer. The company manufactured ordinary pagers for various clients, but the devices sent to Lebanon contained explosive batteries. Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Israel’s Mossad spy agency had planted explosives in 5,000 pagers imported by Hezbollah from Taiwan.
The pagers bore the labels of Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company denied manufacturing the explosive devices. Instead, Gold Apollo stated that the pagers were produced by BAC Consulting KFT, a European company based in Budapest, Hungary, which had been granted the right to use Gold Apollo’s brand name.
Prior to the attack, Israel informed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin that a military operation would take place in Lebanon, without providing specific details. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously warned members not to carry cell phones, as Israel could use them to track the group’s movements, prompting the militant group to rely on pagers for communication.
The New York Times report, citing intelligence officers, revealed that Israel had set up at least two additional shell companies to conceal the identities of intelligence officers involved in creating the pagers. The devices were sent to Lebanon in small numbers throughout 2022, with orders increasing later on.
On Tuesday, the Israelis triggered the blasts by making the pagers beep and sending a message in Arabic that appeared to have originated from Hezbollah’s senior leadership.
The coordinated blasts were the result of a sophisticated, months-long operation by Israel targeting members of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
According to intelligence officers quoted by the New York Times, Israel had established a shell company in Hungary called B.A.C Consulting, which posed as an international pager producer. The company manufactured ordinary pagers for various clients, but the devices sent to Lebanon contained explosive batteries. Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Israel’s Mossad spy agency had planted explosives in 5,000 pagers imported by Hezbollah from Taiwan.
The pagers bore the labels of Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company denied manufacturing the explosive devices. Instead, Gold Apollo stated that the pagers were produced by BAC Consulting KFT, a European company based in Budapest, Hungary, which had been granted the right to use Gold Apollo’s brand name.
Prior to the attack, Israel informed US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin that a military operation would take place in Lebanon, without providing specific details. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had previously warned members not to carry cell phones, as Israel could use them to track the group’s movements, prompting the militant group to rely on pagers for communication.
The New York Times report, citing intelligence officers, revealed that Israel had set up at least two additional shell companies to conceal the identities of intelligence officers involved in creating the pagers. The devices were sent to Lebanon in small numbers throughout 2022, with orders increasing later on.
On Tuesday, the Israelis triggered the blasts by making the pagers beep and sending a message in Arabic that appeared to have originated from Hezbollah’s senior leadership.