CBS program '60 Minutes' interviews retired Mossad agents: Unveiling secrets of Israel’s exploding pager operation against Hezbollah

Thousands of handheld pagers and walkie-talkies exploded simultaneously on Sept. 17 and 18 across Lebanon and Syria

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The U.S. TV show "60 Minutes" will feature a special episode on Israel’s pager operation against Hezbollah, the CBS network announced on Thursday. The episode is scheduled to air on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. EST (Monday, 2:30 a.m. IDT).

The investigative report will feature retired Israeli Mossad agents, speaking on condition of anonymity, who will reveal behind-the-scenes secrets about Israel’s covert pager and walkie-talkie operation against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon on Sept. 17 and 18 and the decade-long preparations leading up to it.

Thousands of handheld pagers and walkie-talkies exploded simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria, resulting in at least 42 deaths and over 3,000 injuries.

The show posted a teaser about the upcoming episode on its 𝕏 account, accompanied by a photo of interviewer Lesley Stahl holding one of the beepers allegedly prepared by Mossad and another photo of a Mossad agent in a mask.

Sunday on 60 Minutes: For the first time, recently retired Mossad agents who led the pager and walkie talkie plot against Hezbollah tell Lesley Stahl how they executed the operation, sharing never-before-known details of the 10-year undercover op. https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/mQAgMLWF70
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) December 19, 2024

According to the Axios news outlet, “’60 Minutes agreed the agents could wear masks and alter their voices to keep them anonymous for the report.”

Axios quoted one of the Mossad agents saying that they had tested the pagers and walkie-talkies multiple times to make sure there would be minimum damage when detonated. “If we push the button, the only one that will get injured is the terrorist himself. Even if his wife or his daughter will be just next to him, he's the only one that going to be harmed.”

The extreme precision of the operations notwithstanding, Israel's pager explosion attack was condemned by the United Nations, which convened an emergency session in the UN Security Council on Sept 20. Following the session, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the ambassadors that he was “appalled by the breadth and impact” of the attack.

Slovenian Ambassador to the UN Samuel Žbogar, who held the Security Council presidency at the time – blamed Israel for creating destabilization in the region, while Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter condemned the Hezbollah pager explosions as a “terrorist attack.”

“I strongly condemn the massive terror attack in Lebanon and Syria, which injured thousands of people. A brutal escalation of violence. Silence is not an option. An international investigation is called for. The bloodshed must end,” De Sutter wrote in a post on 𝕏 at the time.

Although Hezbollah has not disclosed the full extent of the damage caused by the Israeli operation, some reports indicate that at least 59 operatives were killed in Lebanon and Syria, and approximately 4,500 were injured, when their pagers and walkie-talkies exploded. Among the critically wounded were hundreds of operatives, including Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani.