New Delhi:
An exclusive report by The Washington Post reveals that Hezbollah operatives unknowingly carried Israeli-made bombs disguised as pagers. These pagers were designed to require a two-handed procedure to access the message before exploding, catching the users off guard.
Here’s a summary of the key points from this significant story
- The Apollo pager, originally meant for harsh conditions like battlefields, featured a waterproof design and a long-lasting battery. Hezbollah saw it as the perfect communication tool due to its untraceable nature by Israeli intelligence.
- The pagers had a de-encryption process that required users to hold it with both hands, ensuring maximum impact when it detonated.
- Israel conceptualized the pager plan in 2022, with the execution starting over a year before the Hamas attack on October 7. The Washington Post reported on the details.
- To avoid suspicion, Hezbollah sourced Taiwanese-branded Apollo pagers in 2023, a known product line with no ties to Israel or Jewish interests. The Taiwanese company was unaware of the covert plan, as per officials cited in The Washington Post article.
- Most Israeli officials only became aware of the pager’s capabilities on September 12, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a meeting to discuss potential actions against Hezbollah, as disclosed by Israeli sources to the newspaper.
