North News
New Delhi, September 18
Israeli intelligence agencies have a long history of using telecommunication devices to track, surveil, and even eliminate their adversaries. This dates back to 1972 when Mossad operatives rigged the phone of Mahmoud Hamshari, the Palestine Liberation Organization’s representative in Paris, with explosives. When Hamshari answered the phone, the bomb was remotely detonated by an Israeli team, leading to his death, the UK-based Financial Times reported.
Now, in a similarly dramatic escalation, hundreds of pagers exploded across Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon, and suspicions have turned toward Israel. Hizbollah, a militant group heavily affected by the attack, immediately held Israel responsible, the UK-based news outlet said. The explosions killed at least 11 people, including a child, and injured more than 2,700 others.
Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the blasts. However, Netanyahu held emergency consultations with top security officials shortly after the incident.
Israeli intelligence reportedly planted explosives inside thousands of pagers imported by Hezbollah months before Tuesday’s devastating attack in Lebanon, according to sources cited by various U.S. media outlets. These explosive devices were secretly embedded into the pagers, leading to a coordinated detonation that killed at least 11 people and injured over 2,700, UK-based news outlet The Guardian reported.
The attack, which targeted Hezbollah operatives, highlights the sophisticated methods employed by Israeli intelligence in its ongoing conflict with the militant group. Hezbollah had shifted to using pagers in recent months, believing them to be a more secure form of communication after their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, urged operatives to ditch smartphones to avoid Israeli surveillance, the news outlet said.
