ISRAEL was forced to launch its deadly pager attack in Lebanon early over fears the secret operation had been discovered by Hezbollah, US officials have claimed.
The elaborate plot to blow up thousands of the self-destructing devices went into action after reports of Hezbollah operatives raising suspicions about them.
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The attack saw hundreds of devices detonating across Lebanon leaving at least eleven people dead – including two young girls- and thousands injured.
Israel was planning to use the booby-trapped pagers in the event of an- all-out war, in a major blow to the terror group, an ex-Israeli official told Axios.
But Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, top ministers and the IDF made the call to detonate the pagers rather than risking becoming detected.
A US official said the Israeli government became increasingly worried after reports that two Hezbollah operatives raised suspicions about the pagers in the past days.
“It was a use it or lose it moment,” they told Axios.
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Two sources claimed Mossad was behind the attack and managed to infiltrate the 5,000 gadgets that were ordered months ago.
They said the devices had been modified by Israel’s spy service “at the production level.”
The operation with a trail running from Taiwan to Hungary was described as the group’s “biggest security breach” since Gaza, by a Hezbollah official.
The beepers were made by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo but the firm has dismissed claims of a link to the explosions.
The company said the AR-924 pagers were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT based in Budapest which is licensed to use the firm’s brand.
Speaking outside the company’s offices in New Taipei, Gold Apollo founder Hsu Ching-Kuang said the pagers used in the explosion were made by a company in Europe.
“The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it.”
A statement from the company reads: “According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC.”
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While BAC confirmed to NBC it works with Gold Apollo, Consulting chief executive Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono denied any links to the pagers.
“I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate. I think you got it wrong, she said, causing further confusion about where the pagers came from.
A Hezbollah source said the pagers were “brand new” and had not been used by fighters before.
The plot appears to have been in the making for months, sources said.
The devices had been ordered after the group’s leader ordered members to stop using phones in February over fears they could be tracked by Israeli spies.
A senior Lebanese security source said the group had ordered 5,000 beepers which were brought into the country in the spring.
They said: “The Mossad injected a board inside of the device that has explosive material that receives a code.
“It’s very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner.”
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They added that 3,000 of the pagers exploded when a coded message was sent to them, simultaneously activating the explosives.
The senior Lebanese security source identified a photograph of the model of the pager, an AP-924, which like other pagers wirelessly receive and display text messages but cannot make telephone calls.
The deadly blast left almost 3,000 injured, including Hezbollah’s terrorists and the Iranian ambassador.
Iran-backed Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack and vowed to retaliate.
It appeared that many if not most of those hit were members of Hezbollah.
The blasts were mainly Hezbollah strongholds like the south Beirut suburbs and the Beqaa region of eastern Lebanon.
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Israel’s brutal assassination arsenal
ISRAEL has one of the most impressive assassination arsenals in the world and can wipe out its enemies with the most precise strikes.
Its security forces have robot machine guns, an incredible war chest of high-tech missiles, car bombs and poison syringes at their disposal.
Particularly in recent years, Israeli spies and military forces have taken out some of the country’s fiercest enemies with its formidable weaponry.
High-ranking members of Iranian-backed terror proxy groups like Hamas in Gaza or Hezbollah in Lebanon have long been featured on Israeli kill lists.
Israel’s army is home to a formidable array of rockets and drone technology, including anti-cruise, anti-ship and even nuclear capable missiles.
It is one of the most technologically advanced missile arsenals in the Middle East, according to the Centre for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS).
The “Ninja” bladed missile, or AGM-114 Hellfire, is a highly accurate precision rocket designed to hit a target without causing widespread destruction around the area.
Israel is believed to have armed drones with the missiles before, using them for pinpoint assassination bids in Gaza.
Although short-range, they are incredibly precise.
Israel also has in its arsenal several different types of Jericho ballistic missiles, a powerful nuclear capable weapon.
The first series was a short-range ballistic rocket, the second with medium range and the third a long-range, solid-fuelled missile.
Israeli forces also possess Harpoon subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles, with air, ship and submarine-launched versions.
The country’s Lora, Gabriel and Delilah missiles are also capable of targeting precise targets via sea or ground launches.
A more recent addition to the Israeli war chest is the Popeye, an air-to-surface missile with pinpoint accuracy.
It also has a long-range sister which is thought to be nuclear capable.
Israel has an impressive array of F-35 fighter jets which it can use to unleash missiles on its enemies across the region.
But it also makes use of UAVs, or drones, as with the precise strike on Haniyeh.