The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Israel was responsible for the detonation of pagers used by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.
The report, which cited American and other sources, explained that the operation involved placing explosive material inside a fresh shipment of Taiwanese-made pagers sent to Lebanon.
Hezbollah had ordered the pagers from Gold Apollo, a manufacturer based in Taiwan. However, according to some officials who spoke to The New York Times, the devices were altered before reaching Lebanon. While most of the pagers were from the AP924 model, the shipment also included three other models from the same company.
Two officials detailed that the explosives, which weighed between one and two ounces, were inserted near the battery inside each pager. They also mentioned that a switch was added, allowing the explosives to be set off remotely.
At 3:30 p.m. in Lebanon, the pagers reportedly received what seemed to be a routine message from Hezbollah’s leadership, but in reality, this triggered the explosives, two officials told the newspaper.
Three officials further explained that the pagers were programmed to emit a series of beeps for a few seconds before detonating.
Hezbollah had purchased over 3,000 pagers from Gold Apollo, with several officials noting that the devices were distributed to members across Lebanon, and some even reached Hezbollah affiliates in Iran and Syria.
According to Lebanese reports, the explosions that took place on Tuesday resulted in 11 fatalities and left at least 4,000 people wounded.
Earlier in the day, Sky News’ Arabic division reported that the Mossad had planted the explosive material inside the pagers’ batteries and triggered them by raising the temperature of the batteries.
A security official from Lebanon told Al Jazeera that the pagers had been booby-trapped before being delivered to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has accused Israel of orchestrating the explosions and has threatened retaliation. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denounced the incident, labeling it a “terrorist act” and holding Israel responsible.

{Matzav.com}