The filmmakers said the documentary examines the decisions and years of preparation behind the attack.
By Shula Rosen
Israel built an elaborate commercial operation to secretly place explosives in thousands of Hezbollah pagers and later acted to prevent the plot from being discovered, according to new details featured in the documentary Paging Hezbollah.
The film, directed by Justin Polk and scheduled for release Oct. 30, includes interviews with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-Mossad chief David Barnea and then-IDF Northern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Ori Gordin.
On Sept. 17, 2024, thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah terrorists detonated simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria. At least 12 terrorists were killed and nearly 3,000 other members of the armed group were injured.
The operation centered on 5,000 AR-924 pagers ordered by Hezbollah. Mossad agents described establishing a network of shell companies, engineers, a showroom and marketing videos that concealed Israel’s involvement. B.A.C. Consulting in Hungary and Apollo Systems HK were among the companies involved, and the operation obtained a licensing partnership with Taiwan’s Gold Apollo.
Commercial pricing was also manipulated to discourage buyers other than Hezbollah.
Regular customers were offered the pagers at deliberately high prices, while Hezbollah could purchase them much more cheaply.
Each device contained a specially constructed lithium-ion battery pack concealing a 6-gram layer of PETN plastic explosives.
A metal-free detonator strip was designed to remain undetectable during standard security scans.
Agents tested the pagers repeatedly on dummies, measuring how explosions affected the person holding the device and nearby bystanders.
They also chose an unusually jarring ringtone intended to make recipients take the pagers from their pockets and bring them toward their faces.
The operation faced possible exposure before the devices were detonated. In August 2024, Israel learned that a Hezbollah operative had become suspicious of the pagers and planned to examine them. Israel killed the terrorist in a targeted attack that was made to appear connected to a nearby target, keeping the larger operation concealed.
Another potential breach arose in the third week of September 2024, when Hezbollah sent three pagers to Iran for specialized scanning.
Channel 12 reported that Iran sought to deliver advanced X-ray mirror machines to Lebanon to inspect the devices. The Israeli Air Force bombed the shipment and killed the equipment operator while presenting the strike as routine military activity.
Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the idea of targeting Hezbollah’s fighting force through explosive communications equipment had been brought before the cabinet on Oct. 11, 2023, according to Channel 12.
The filmmakers said the documentary examines the decisions and years of preparation behind the attack.
“This film is an investigation into the people and choices behind a story the world thought it already knew.”
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