‘A 50% chance the Iranians will discover the beepers are booby trapped by tomorrow’

By Hezy Laing

Described as one of the most brilliant operations by any secret service ever – the Mossad’s Beeper operation against Hizbullah almost didn’t happen.

Speaking on Channel 14’s popular “Patriotim” television show Saturday night, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed that Israeli intelligence had learned that Hezbollah had sent some of the suspicious devices to Iran for forensic scanning.

Netanyahu recounted the moment he learned the news.

He asked Israeli security officials how long it would take for Iranian experts to detect the embedded explosives.

According to Netanyahu, the response was: “There’s a 50% chance they’ll find it tomorrow.”

This shocking assessment prompted him to order the detonation of thousands of booby-trapped beepers and walkie-talkies the very next day — on September 17–18, 2024.

So the intelligence estimate was pivotal in triggering the operation.

The result was a coordinated detonation that reportedly killed over 40 individuals and severely injured more than 1,500 Hezbollah operatives.

The devices had been planted over several months, and the operation was kept classified until Netanyahu’s public disclosure.

The operation, dubbed “Grim Beeper” by some analysts, underscores Israel’s escalating technological and intelligence dominance over its enemies.

The operation, which took place on September 17–18, 2024, involved the remote detonation of thousands of booby-trapped beepers and walkie-talkies that had been covertly distributed to Hezbollah terrorists across Lebanon and Syria.

According to Netanyahu, the devices were rigged to explode upon command, and the operation was launched after Israeli intelligence learned that Hezbollah had begun sending some of the suspicious devices to Iran for forensic scanning.