The explosive was so well hidden that even if suspicious terrorists would take the devices apart – which Israeli officials believe at least some of them did, even perhaps X-raying them – it wouldn’t be found.
The September 17 and 18 pagers explosions that maimed some 3,000 Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and killed a few dozen was almost two years in the making, The Washington Post reported Sunday in an exclusive report.
Citing unnamed American, Israeli and Lebanese security and other sources, the paper reported that in February 2023, a marketing agent who used to work for the Gold Apollo pagers company in the Middle East and then formed her own company to sell them and other beepers, convinced Hezbollah officials to make a bulk purchase of 5,000 devices.
“She was the one in touch with Hezbollah, and explained to them why the bigger pager with the larger battery was better than the original model,” said an Israeli official.