Ex-Defense Minister Reveals Details of Covert Operation Preceding Hezbollah Pager Attack

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed new details regarding the covert operations that preceded the September 17, 2024, Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie attack. In an interview aired Monday, Gallant explained that in early August 2024, Israel's security establishment discovered a Hezbollah operative suspected of investigating the pagers. Israel then assassinated this operative, staging the killing to appear as an "incidental event" targeting someone else, thereby concealing the true reason for his elimination.

Further complicating the situation, Iran subsequently sent testing and scanning devices to examine the pagers. Israel countered by detonating these Iranian devices, again creating a scenario that misled Hezbollah into believing the explosions were unrelated to the pager investigation. This sequence of events presented Israeli decision-makers with a critical dilemma: whether to launch the full-scale pager attack immediately due to the risk of exposure, or to wait for the complete implementation of a plan that included detonating walkie-talkies, an event that could have been even more dramatic.

Gallant stated in the interview, "In the first week of August, it became clear to us that someone suspects the pagers, you go to the list of those eliminated and we eliminated him. Afterwards, it becomes clear that testing devices are arriving that could test these devices along with other things. And then, in the course of the process, it becomes clear that somewhere there are pagers under test."

He added, "The result is that you enter a situation, either you operate, or it will be discovered in a short time. What is at stake is just one question, if you play with it you can reach the full operation of communication devices first. The strategic event was born out of necessity."

It was also reported that the Hezbollah pagers were marked with "M-tech," a designation implying Mossad technology, and Mossad operatives reportedly filmed mocking videos of the enemy receiving the devices. The September 17, 2024, attack involved coordinated explosions of thousands of pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies belonging to Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and Syria, resulting in at least 59 deaths and approximately 4,500 injuries.