The blackened remains of pagers and handheld radios, destroyed in a massive attack on Hezbollah last week, have become key evidence in what current and former Israeli and Western security officials describe as part of a decade-long Israeli effort to infiltrate the terror group, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
Markings on the charred electronic components have led investigators back to a Taiwanese manufacturer and a Hungarian shell company, suspected to have been created or exploited by Israeli intelligence to obscure its role in supplying Hezbollah with booby-trapped devices. Security officials in a European capital are investigating whether a second shell company was the real seller behind the pager deal.
According to officials cited in the report, the attack was part of a broader strategy referred to by Israeli officials as a “red button” capability—designed to penetrate an adversary’s infrastructure and lie dormant until triggered. The exact reason Israel activated this capability now remains unclear, though experts believe the move was prompted by concerns that Hezbollah was on the verge of discovering the plot. Such operations are typically meant to create chaos ahead of broader military offensives, officials said.
Tuesday’s explosions, which Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported killed at least 12 people and injured nearly 2,800, struck both Hezbollah operatives and civilians, including children. A second wave of explosions involving radios on Wednesday killed at least 25 and wounded 450 more.
Despite the devastation, these attacks were not immediately followed by a major Israeli military incursion into Lebanon. An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb Friday killed over 30 people, including two senior Hezbollah commanders, along with more civilians.
The so-called “red button” concept, according to a former Israeli official familiar with the pager operation, allows for a devastating capability that can be used at a moment's notice. The former official explained that the detonation of the devices this week “wasn’t part of the comprehensive plan” when the operation was initially conceived, but stressed that Israeli officials believe the impact was significant.
“Look at the outcome,” the former official said, noting the explosions that incapacitated Hezbollah leaders, overwhelmed hospitals, and left operatives unable to trust their communications gear.
A second former Israeli intelligence official described the attack as the culmination of years of work to infiltrate Hezbollah’s communications, logistics, and procurement systems. Long before the devices were rigged with explosives, Israel’s Mossad and other intelligence agencies had gained detailed insight into Hezbollah’s operational needs, shell companies, and procurement networks.
“You need to create an infrastructure of companies,” the former official said, “in which one sells to another, who sells to another,” all to get closer to Hezbollah’s agents while concealing any connection to Israel.