'We Created A Pretend World': Mossad Agents Boast About Mass Pager Attack In Lebanon

Former Mossad agents revealed new details of Israel's pager and walkie-talkie terror attacks carried out against members of Hezbollah in interviews with the CBS News program 60 Minutes this week..

According to a former Israeli intelligence agent known as Michael, Hezbollah bought more than 16,000 of the exploding devices. When Mossad chief David Barnea gave the green light for the attack in September, the pagers and walkie-talkies were detonated on subsequent days.

Some 42 people were killed, including two children, while about 4,000 were injured. Many lost their hands and eyes or had their stomachs ripped open by the explosions. Michael said the walkie-talkie batteries, which included explosive devices, were made in Israel at a Mossad facility.

Mossad then set up shell companies to infiltrate the supply chain and sell the devices to Hezbollah. The walkie-talkies were designed to go into armored tactical vests used in battle.

"We create a pretend world. We are a global production company: We write the screenplay, we're the directors, we're the producers, we're the main actors," Michael said. "And the world is our stage."

Another former Mossad agent, Gabriel, told 60 Minutes that the spy agency began developing booby-trapped pagers in 2022. They wanted a device that Hezbollah members would carry with them at all times, not just in battle.

Gabriel said Mossad had learned that the Lebanese resistance movement was buying pagers from a company in Taiwan called Gold Apollo. Mossad set up shell companies, including one in Hungary, to produce the explosive pagers and market them under a licensing agreement with Gold Apollo.

The pagers had no intelligence capabilities and could not be used to track Hezbollah members or gather information about them, Gabriel said. They could only be detonated to kill or maim anyone holding them.

Hezbollah members, both in the military and civilian wings, used pagers instead of cell phones to communicate to avoid being surveilled by Israel. "This is a very stupid device by nature. This is the reason they're using it. There's almost no way how to tap it," Gabriel said. 

Mossad paid for fake ads on YouTube, promoting them as dustproof, waterproof, and with a long battery life. They also posted fake online testimonials for the pagers.

"It became the best product in the beeper area in the world," Gabriel said. "When they are buying from us, they have zero clue that they are buying from the Mossad. We make like the ‘Truman Show,’ everything is controlled by us behind the scenes," Gabriel claimed.  

A Mossad shell company also hired the Gold Apollo saleswoman Hezbollah was already working with. She offered Hezbollah the first batch of pagers as an upgrade, free of charge. By the time of the terror attack in September 2024, around 5,000 Hezbollah members were carrying the pagers. 

At 3:30 pm on September 17, Mossad detonated the pagers. The walkie-talkies were detonated the following day. "Mayhem ensued as explosions went off. Hospitals filled up with the wounded. Limbs and fingers were torn off. People were left bloodied, blinded, and even with holes in their stomachs," CBS wrote.

Following the pager and walkie-talkie terror attacks, the Israeli Air Force unleashed a major bombing campaign in Lebanon. The bombing killed over 500 people on just the first day.

On September 27, Israel dropped over 80 2,000-pound bombs (around 907 kilograms) on Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's bunker, assassinating him.

Over the next two months, Israel and Hezbollah fought a major war that ended in a 60-day ceasefire that took effect on November 27.