According to reports from a senior Lebanese security source and another informant, Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency embedded explosives within 5,000 pagers that were imported by the Lebanese group Hezbollah several months prior to the detonations that occurred on Tuesday.

This operation represented a significant security breach for Hezbollah, resulting in the detonation of numerous pagers throughout Lebanon, which led to the deaths of nine individuals and injuries to nearly 3,000 others, including members of the group and Iran’s representative in Beirut.

The Lebanese security source indicated that the pagers originated from Gold Apollo, a company based in Taiwan; however, Gold Apollo stated in a press release that it did not produce the devices. Instead, it clarified that the pagers were manufactured by a firm named BAC, which holds a license to utilize its brand, but did not provide further information.

Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, has pledged to take retaliatory action against Israel, whose military has refrained from commenting on the explosions. In a statement released on Wednesday, Hezbollah asserted that “the resistance will persist today, as it has on any other day, in its efforts to support Gaza, its populace, and its resistance, which is distinct from the severe retribution that the criminal enemy (Israel) should anticipate in response to Tuesday’s massacre.”

According to multiple sources, the plot seems to have been in development for several months, as reported by Reuters. A senior security official from Lebanon indicated that the group had procured 5,000 beepers from Gold Apollo, which sources claim were smuggled into the country earlier this year.

Hsu Ching-Kuang, the founder of Gold Apollo, stated that the pagers involved in the explosion were manufactured by a European company authorized to use the brand, although he could not immediately verify the company’s name. The firm identified in a statement as BAC was not confirmed by Hsu regarding its location. “The product was not ours; it merely bore our brand,” Hsu remarked to reporters at the company’s offices in New Taipei, Taiwan, on Wednesday.

The senior Lebanese security official recognized a photograph of the pager model, the AP924, which, like other pagers, can wirelessly receive and display text messages but lacks the capability to make phone calls. Gold Apollo further clarified in a statement that the AR-924 model was produced and marketed by BAC.

The statement indicated, “Our role is limited to providing brand trademark authorization, and we do not participate in the design or manufacturing of this product.”

According to two sources familiar with Hezbollah’s operations, the group has resorted to using pagers as a rudimentary communication method to avoid detection by Israeli tracking systems. However, a senior Lebanese source revealed that these devices had been altered by Israel’s intelligence agency “at the production level.” The source explained, “The Mossad embedded a circuit board within the device that contains explosive materials activated by a specific code. It is extremely difficult to detect this modification using any standard device or scanner.”

The source further noted that 3,000 pagers detonated upon receiving a coded message, triggering the explosives simultaneously. Another security source informed Reuters that the new pagers concealed up to three grams of explosives, which had remained “undetected” by Hezbollah for several months.

Hsu expressed uncertainty regarding the method used to rig the pagers for detonation. Israeli officials did not provide immediate comments in response to Reuters’ inquiries. Analysis of images depicting the destroyed pagers revealed a design and labeling consistent with those produced by Gold Apollo.

The attack left Hezbollah in disarray, resulting in injuries, hospitalizations, and fatalities among its fighters and affiliates. A Hezbollah official, who requested anonymity, described the incident as the group’s “most significant security breach” since the onset of the Gaza conflict involving Israel and its ally Hamas on October 7.

Jonathan Panikoff, a former deputy national intelligence officer for the Middle East in the U.S. government, remarked, “This represents the most substantial counterintelligence failure Hezbollah has experienced in decades.”

In February, Hezbollah formulated a military strategy aimed at rectifying deficiencies within its intelligence framework. Approximately 170 fighters had already perished due to targeted Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon, which included the loss of a senior commander and a prominent Hamas official in Beirut.

In a televised address on February 13, Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah issued a grave warning to supporters, stating that their mobile phones posed a greater threat than Israeli spies, urging them to either destroy, bury, or securely lock away their devices. In response, the organization decided to distribute pagers to its members across various divisions, including combatants and medics involved in its humanitarian efforts.

Footage from hospitals reviewed by Reuters indicated that the explosions resulted in severe injuries to numerous Hezbollah members, with wounded individuals suffering from facial injuries, amputated fingers, and significant wounds at the hip, where the pagers were presumably carried.

A senior Lebanese security official, possessing direct knowledge of the group’s investigation into the blasts, remarked, “We really got hit hard.” The pager explosions occurred amid escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border hostilities since the onset of the Gaza conflict last October.

While the war in Gaza has been Israel’s primary concern following the October 7 assault by Hamas-led militants, the volatile situation along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon has raised alarms about a potential regional conflict involving the United States and Iran. A missile barrage launched by Hezbollah the day after October 7 marked the beginning of this latest phase of conflict, leading to daily exchanges of rockets, artillery, and missiles, with Israeli aircraft conducting strikes deep within Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah has asserted that it does not desire a broader war but is prepared to engage if Israel initiates one. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant informed U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday that the opportunity for a diplomatic resolution to the standoff with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement in southern Lebanon is rapidly diminishing.