ABC News reports citing U.S. officials
“Israel deploys intelligence agents and assets”
As evidence emerges that Israel operated a shell company and attacked the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah with pagers equipped with explosives, the U.S. broadcaster ABC reported on the 20th (local time), citing a U.S. intelligence source, that this operation had been planned for at least 15 years.
The source said Israel was involved in the production of Hezbollah’s pagers that exploded across Lebanon on the 17th, according to the report.
He explained that the CIA has been reluctant to use this method because innocent civilians are likely to be harmed.
Israel reportedly not only operated several shell companies to carry out its operations, but also operated a legitimate company that produced pagers using intelligence agents and assets of various ranks.
It has been reported that some employees working at the company have been working without knowing these facts or who is behind them.
Earlier, on the 17th, thousands of pagers were simultaneously exploded across Lebanon, and on the 18th, radios exploded in a chain reaction, killing at least 37 people, including two children, and injuring over 3,150.
The New York Times (NYT) cited multiple current and former military and intelligence officials as reporting that the Hungary-based company that produced the pagers was a shell company set up by Israel, and that the devices were being manufactured with the intention of targeting Hezbollah.
In this regard, a Hungarian government spokesperson told ABC News, “The devices in question have never been in Hungary,” and “the company is a trading intermediary with no manufacturing or operating facilities in Hungary.”
Hezbollah has threatened retaliation after the explosions, including the beeper bombing, and has blamed Israel for the incident.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah denounced the attack in a video message the previous day, saying, “This attack has crossed all laws and red lines,” adding, “This is a large-scale terrorist attack, genocide, mass murder.”
Israel has neither admitted nor denied any involvement in the blasts.
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2024-09-21 09:43:30