Israel’s Mossad rigged pager batteries with explosives before they reached Hezbollah: Media

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The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad planted explosives in the batteries of pager devices that detonated in Lebanon and Syria yesterday, killing 12 people and injuring thousands, according to media reports.

Citing exclusive sources, Sky News Arabia reported the communication devices had fallen into Israeli hands before reaching Hezbollah.

“Mossad managed to intercept Hezbollah’s communication devices before they were delivered to the group,” the sources told the channel.

The sources noted that the spy agency “rigged a quantity of the highly explosive material pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) in the devices’ batteries, which were detonated by increasing the batteries’ temperature.”

At least 12 people including two children were killed in a mass explosion of the pagers in areas across Lebanon and Syria, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad.

He added that around 2,750 people were injured, including 200 who were in a critical condition.

A source close to Hezbollah told Agence France-Presse that the pagers involved in the explosions were part of a shipment of 1,000 devices recently imported by the group, which appears to have been compromised at the exporter.

Hezbollah confirmed that at least two of its members were killed and many injured in the mass explosion and held Israel fully responsible for the incident, vowing a “just retaliation from unexpected quarters.”

Israel has not commented on the attacks, with the Prime Minister’s Office distancing itself from a now-deleted social media post by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s former top aide and spokesperson Topaz Luk, which hinted at Israeli responsibility for the attacks.

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