Israel's pager operation documentary explores Hezbollah supply chain infiltration

A new documentary directed by Justin Folk, titled ‘Paging Hezbollah’, explores the multi-year Israeli intelligence operation that led to the simultaneous detonation of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in September 2024.

The operation involved infiltrating Hezbollah’s supply chains to plant explosives within communication devices. The first wave of explosions occurred on September 17, 2024, across Lebanon and parts of Syria, followed by a second wave targeting handheld radios the next day. The attacks resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries, many affecting the hands, eyes, and faces of operatives.

The film features firsthand accounts and interviews with high-ranking figures, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Mossad Director David Barnea, and former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, who described the operation as a ‘modern-day Trojan horse.’ The documentary details the engineering and deception required to exploit Hezbollah’s shift toward low-tech communication devices intended to avoid electronic surveillance.