The Mossad is considered one of the most notorious secret services in the world – and is probably behind the thousands of explosions in Lebanon. It would not be its first spectacular operation.
First pagers, then radios – Lebanon is currently being hit by a wave of explosions that is as mysterious as it is terrifying. Thousands of people have been injured and, according to the latest reports, 32 people have been killed. It is considered certain that Israel is behind the attack.
Defense Minister Joav Galant announced a “new phase” of the war. Violence in the Middle East escalated about a year ago after the terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel and murdered more than 1,000 people. Since then, Israel has been fighting on several fronts, one of which is Lebanon.
The Mossad is known for complex operations
Israel wants to ensure that refugees can return to the border region of its neighbouring country – and to achieve this goal it is apparently also relying on injuring or killing Hezbollah militia fighters with the explosives in their pockets. At the same time, the action is causing fear and terror among the people of Lebanon – no one can be safe, is the message that the explosions send out.
The foreign intelligence service Mossad is believed to have planned and carried out the operation, as research by the New York Times suggests. It apparently intercepted the radios and pagers ordered by Hezbollah and prepared them with explosives – a mammoth logistical operation reminiscent of a spy novel. What is to come next? It is completely unclear. Israel’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi made it clear: “We still have many capabilities that we have not yet used.”
Since its founding in 1949, the Mossad has proven time and again that it is capable of extremely complex and spectacular operations. It is not without reason that it is considered one of the most notorious secret services in the world. A selection of the sensational actions of Israel’s “Central Intelligence and Security Service”:
Video footage shows exploding pagers belonging to Hezbollah members
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- Kidnapping of Adolf Eichmann: The kidnapping of the German Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmannby the Israeli secret service is legendary. Mossad spies tracked down Eichmann, who was one of the main people responsible for the deportation and murder of European Jews, in Argentina in 1960. They overpowered him on the street in Buenos Aires. Eichmann was flown unnoticed to Israel, where he was sentenced to death and executed in 1962.
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You can read more about the Mossad in “Geo Epoche”, issue 67: “Secret Services. The History of Espionage”. Available at or from
- Killing of Jihia Ajasch: In January 1996, Israeli intelligence killed Hamas military chief and bomb maker Yihia Ayash by placing an explosive in his cell phone, which was detonated remotely. Israel was – as far as is known – the first country to use a communications device for an assassination, wrote Israeli intelligence expert Ronen Bergman.
- Failed attack on Khaled Mashaal: The attempted murder of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal, today a kind of “foreign minister” of the Islamist organization, in September 1997 is considered one of the Mossad’s greatest failures. Israeli agents attempted to spray Mashaal with a deadly poison in the Jordanian capital Amman. King Hussein reacted so outraged to the poison attack that he forced the then and current head of government Benjamin Netanyahu to have an antidote delivered to save Mashaal. In order to free the two agents arrested in the attack from Jordanian custody, Israel was forced to release the spiritual leader of Hamas, Ahmed Yassin. In 2004, Yassin died in a targeted Israeli air strike.
- Failed wiretapping attempt: In February 1998, five agents were caught trying to install listening devices in a house on the outskirts of Bern. The police arrested one man and let four go after checking their false passports. The arrested agent got off with a suspended sentence. The incident played a major role in the resignation of the then Mossad chief Danny Jatom.
- Murder of Mahmud al-Mabhu: In January 2010, Hamas military leader Mahmoud al-Mabhuh was murdered in his hotel room in Dubai. He was first sedated with drugs and then suffocated. Israeli media described Al-Mabhuh as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldiers in 1989. The Arab authorities suspect 27 people who entered Dubai with fake European passports and left Dubai immediately after the attack. Around a month later, Dubai’s police chief accused the Mossad, while Israel denied any involvement.
- Killing of Ismail Haniya: In July 2024, Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya is visiting the Iranian capital Tehran to attend the swearing-in of the new Iranian President Massoud Peseschkian. A few hours later, Haniya is killed in an attack in a residence in the north of the capital. In a Hamas statement, Israel is blamed for the killing of Haniya in a targeted rocket attack. The foreign chief is the highest-ranking Hamas leader to be killed since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
