Explosives hidden inside 5,000 pagers, allegedly planted by Israel's Mossad, detonated across Lebanon on Tuesday in an unprecedented breach of Hezbollah's security.

According to senior Lebanese sources, the devices, which were imported by Hezbollah earlier this year, caused blasts that killed nine people and injured nearly 3,000, including Hezbollah fighters and Iran's ambassador to Lebanon.

The pagers, believed to be sourced from a European manufacturer under the brand of Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, were reportedly altered by Mossad before reaching Lebanon. Sources suggest that Mossad inserted explosive components at the production stage, making detection nearly impossible.

The explosives were triggered by a coded message sent to 3,000 of the pagers.

The incident marks a major counterintelligence failure for Hezbollah. The group, which had adopted pagers to avoid Israeli location-tracking, now faces the fallout from what is considered its most significant security breach in decades.

Hezbollah, which has been engaged in cross-border hostilities with Israel since the Gaza conflict began in October, has vowed retaliation for the attack. Israeli officials have not commented on the blasts. However, experts see the operation as a demonstration of Israel's deep intelligence penetration within Hezbollah.

Dumped Mobiles But Gets Hit Hard With Pagers

During a televised address on February 13, Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah warned his supporters that their mobile phones posed a greater threat than Israeli espionage, urging them to destroy, bury, or lock their phones away. In response, the group decided to distribute pagers across its ranks, from combatants to medics, as a low-tech communication method aimed at avoiding Israeli surveillance.

However, the decision proved disastrous. Recent explosions of these pagers, allegedly rigged with explosives by Israel's Mossad, left many Hezbollah members severely injured. Footage from hospitals revealed victims with facial injuries, missing fingers, and deep wounds at the hip where the pagers had been worn.

A senior Lebanese security source described the devastation, saying, "We really got hit hard." The blasts come amid rising tensions between Hezbollah and Israel, who have been exchanging rocket fire and airstrikes since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in October.

Though the conflict in Gaza remains Israel's primary focus following the October 7 Hamas-led attacks, the increasingly volatile situation along Israel's northern border with Lebanon has raised fears of a broader regional conflict involving the United States and Iran. Hezbollah has stated it does not seek an expanded war but is prepared to respond if Israel initiates one.

While Israeli officials have not commented on the pager explosions, analysts view the incident as a clear sign of Israel's deep intelligence infiltration within Hezbollah. Paul Pillar, a former senior U.S. intelligence officer, said the operation demonstrated Israel's significant reach within its adversary's ranks.