Mossad to Hezbollah: "Can You Hear Me Now?"
Agent 1: "Who uses pagers anymore?" Agent 2: "Not as many as yesterday."
(Narrator VO - deep thriller movie trailer voice: agent code name: 'Motti Rolla' - Operation: 'Nokia - Disconnecting People.'")
Meanwhile, according to reports, the entire batch of lithium batteries used in the new replacement pagers that were distributed by an Iranian company (oh, the irony) to Hezbollah personnel a few months ago were all treated with 20 grams of PETN, an incredibly potent explosive.
And, in the bloody wake of the almost Biblical-level strike, "Israel will be mapping out injuries, hospital admissions, social media posts, electronic communications, news footage, and medical records, linking them all to people who had these pagers today. Forget the injuries and deaths; Israel just created a massive and growing trove of information about both known and previously unknown Hezbollah militants, as well as their supporters, partners, friends, family members, colleagues, workplaces, vehicles, and homes.
"They just created an incredibly dense and *up-to-date* social graph of an entire terrorist network, across Lebanon as well as neighboring countries. It is incredible what they just did.
"(Imagine being in a dark room with a massive Christmas tree in it. The tree has thousands of electric lights strewn all over it, but they’re unlit because the wall plug is not plugged into the wall socket.)
"(Now, plug it in.)" according to Ben Badejo on X. In the estimable words of a family member, “Your Palantir software is going to get a workout 🏋”
(Thanks to Yael and Don for the joke: Agent 1: "Who uses pagers anymore?" Agent 2: "Not as many as yesterday.")
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Rolling updates from immediately after the news broke over at Life on The Border:
Latest reports initial reports of well over two thousand Hezbollah personnel killed and wounded in simultaneous bombings in Beirut, other areas in Lebanon, Syria:
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Hezbollah, in a brief statement more than three hours after the event, officially blamed Israel: "After examining all the data - we consider Israel to be fully responsible for this aggression, which also harmed civilians and caused a large number of deaths and injuries.
"This enemy will get the reaction he deserves from an unexpected place," according to Israel Army Radio reporter, Doron Kadosh.
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"According to sources, the encrypted beepers used as internal comms simultaneously exploded by remote activation." According to one report, the devices were sent a signal that caused the beeper to suddenly heat up uncontrollably and combust the lithium batteries, which are difficult to extinguish.
I24 Israeli News reporter, Yinon Yatach notes that "The pictures from the blasts in Beirut and the number of casualties are only what can be seen on the street. These radios circulate mainly inside the military compounds - and there it will take a long time to assess the damage."
Initial reports say several senior officials may have been killed or wounded in the explosions - "the most severe the organization has ever experienced," one of the Iranian-backed terror group told a reporter. [graphic video clips - some with sound - show Hezbollah personnel responding to incoming calls, and the device exploding in their hands or in their belt holster - DB]
"During the last few months of the war, Hezbollah took many actions to maintain "field security" among their operatives," according to Kadosh. "Hezbollah reduced the use of radios and did not use cell phones in the border area with Israel in southern Lebanon. The organization followed strict guidelines and rules regarding communication.
"These facts show how complex it was to carry out an operation of this type, and whoever is behind the operation - achieved high-quality intelligence and operational penetration within Hezbollah."
In parallel, a vehicle exploded in or near Damascus, Syria, and may be part of the same series of blasts.
"A security source for Al Jazeera reports that the explosions happened simultaneously in several places - in Dahiya, in the Lebanon Valley and in southern Lebanon, according to Army Radio reporter, Ro'i Case. According to Reuters, dozens are seriously wounded, and local hospitals have put out a call for blood donations.
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The report comes in the wake of intensive Israeli security meetings over the last 24 hours, held at the underground "Pit" - nicknamed "the Bor," at IDF - Defense Ministry headquarters at the Kiriya complex in central Tel Aviv.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met earlier today with Mossad chief, Didi Barnea, according to local reports. Both Netanyahu and Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, are in the complex, according to Israeli media.
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Additionally, the Shin Bet say they recently thwarted a Hezbollah plot to assassinate "a former senior security figure using a Claymore-type device that was intended to be carried out in the coming days. The infrastructure behind the attack was the same as the one that carried out the attempted attack in [Tel Aviv's] Yarkon Park on September 15th.
"Operational preparation and the activity of the forces prevented the attack in the final stages of implementation.
"The personality in question has been updated by the security forces and is being updated accordingly. At this stage it is not possible to expand details beyond that.
"It should be noted that this is a device similar in its characteristics to the Kalimagor device used by Hezbollah on 9/15/23 in Yarakon Park, which was intended to hit an Israeli official.
*The assessment in the security system is that the Hezbollah elements involved in the current incident were behind the attack in September 2023.* And it should be emphasized that the infrastructure was under surveillance for a long time."
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This report will be updated as events dictate - DB
Well done!
God bless Israel.