Photo: from open sources
US intelligence believes the pager operation, which led to significant militant casualties in Lebanon, had been in preparation for more than 15 years. As vesty reports, the CIA also considered a similar strategy but deemed it impractical due to the risks involved, officially citing concerns about civilian safety.
Sources in US intelligence told ABC News that the operation was highly complex, involving technology development, decoy campaigns, and using participants without their full knowledge. The pagers were embedded with 30-60 grams of explosives, triggered remotely, a method also studied by the CIA.
By September 20, Lebanon’s Ministry of Health reported 37 dead and 2,932 injured as a result of the operation. Israel believes these numbers are understated, with the elite Radwan Force suffering the heaviest losses. Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged that the organization had taken a serious blow, calling it “genocide,” but vowed that fighting would continue as long as the Gaza conflict rages.
Meanwhile, the attack dealt a significant blow to Hezbollah’s reputation in the Arab world, especially after Israeli forces destroyed 1,000 rockets aimed at Israel within twenty minutes.
