Mossad Director David Barnea disclosed on Tuesday, during a conference at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, the details of a “pager operation” that struck Hezbollah last September, calling it a major “turning point” in the war between Israel and the militant group.
According to i24 News, Barnea explained that when intelligence experts realized that booby-trapped walkie-talkies would not be used in all situations, they shifted their focus to beepers (pagers) as early as late 2022. He noted that approximately 500 beepers were smuggled into Lebanon just weeks before the October 7 attacks.
“There were ten times more beepers in Hezbollah’s possession at the time of their detonation on September 17 than at the beginning of the war,” Barnea stated. “Twice as many walkie-talkies were destroyed than would have been at an earlier stage.”
In a striking revelation, Barnea emphasized that the total amount of explosives used in the operation was less than that of a standard landmine, demonstrating Mossad’s ability to execute precision strikes with minimal resources.
At the time of the detonations, Barnea added, most of the walkie-talkies were stored in Hezbollah warehouses, making the strike even more effective.
Barnea also praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for approving the pager operation, even though it went against a “majority opinion in the room.”
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had previously advocated for a large-scale operation in Lebanon just days after the October 7, 2023, attacks. However, Barnea argued that delaying the operation allowed for a greater impact.
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