What Hezbollah's chief Naim Qassem revealed about the deadly pager bombings

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has, for the first time, offered detailed insight into how Israeli intelligence infiltrated the group’s internal systems, culminating in the deadly Israeli pager and walkie-talkie bombings that killed dozens and wounded thousands in September last year.

In a televised interview with Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen channel on Tuesday, Qassem confirmed that Israeli intelligence had infiltrated the group's procurement chain, planting explosives in communications devices used by its fighters.

The revelations mark the first official acknowledgement from Hezbollah of the scale and impact of the operation, which Qassem described as a "very serious" and a "painful blow".

The unprecedented sabotage began on 17 September 2024, when thousands of booby-trapped pagers distributed across Hezbollah's network exploded simultaneously, targeting not only fighters but also a broader network that included employees of Hezbollah institutions performing civilian functions, such as medical staff.

A second wave of detonations followed a day later, when hundreds of walkie-talkies were similarly triggered. The blasts struck fighters and civilians alike, including two children, and left thousands with life-altering injuries.

Qassem said initial tests conducted on the devices failed to detect the hidden explosives, which he said were of a type "undetectable by standard methods".

He admitted that Hezbollah's supply channels had been compromised and said the companies involved in procurement were unknowingly exposed to Israeli intelligence.

"The entire procurement chain was infiltrated," he said. "It was a strange and surprising operation."

According to Qassem, then-leader Hassan Nasrallah was "extremely angry" during a Hezbollah leadership meeting shortly after the bombings, describing the incident as a "painful blow" which had exposed the group's surveillance vulnerabilities.

Qassem pointed to Israeli drone activity over Lebanon as a key factor in enabling the operation, saying it allowed Tel Aviv to coordinate the attacks with maximum precision.

The attack has since been described by Lebanese and regional commentators as a state-sponsored terror operation.

While Israel has not officially claimed responsibility, Israeli intelligence sources speaking to domestic media outlets have called the pager bombings one of Mossad's most successful sabotage missions.

Defiance over disarmament

The revelations come at a time of mounting pressure on Hezbollah to disarm in line with the US-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the war with Israel in November. But Qassem was adamant that Hezbollah would not give up its weapons.

"We will confront when we decide to confront," he said. "If the Israelis, and behind them the Americans, believe they can force our hand through pressure, they are mistaken."

The ceasefire deal, which formally ended more than two months of full-scale war and over a year of cross-border hostilities, obliges Hezbollah to hand over its arsenal to the Lebanese state and for the Lebanese army to take full control of the south.

In return, Israel is required to withdraw its forces from Lebanese territory.

But Israel has continued to violate the agreement with near-daily strikes, most recently killing Hussein Ali Mezher, whom it accused of coordinating rocket fire, in an airstrike in south Lebanon.

Israeli forces also remain occupying five strategic hilltops in Lebanese territory, openly refusing to withdraw until Hezbollah disarms.

Qassem argued that Washington's pressure campaign was aimed at achieving politically what it failed to accomplish militarily.

"The American project in the region is designed to extract concessions through Israel's aggression and intimidation," he said.

He also condemned last month's Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, which flattened nine buildings. Israel claimed the strikes targeted underground drone manufacturing sites, but the Lebanese army reported finding no weapons at one of the sites prior to the attack. Qassem said the bombings were carried out with "full American guidance" and had "no military justification".

A 'heavy legacy'

Qassem acknowledged that Hezbollah was still reeling from the war, during which it lost senior commanders, including Nasrallah and his designated successor Hashem Safieddine, along with thousands of fighters and a large share of its firepower. Still, the group is believed to retain ballistic missiles, precision-guided rockets, and attack drones.

Qassem dismissed calls for disarmament as premature, saying Hezbollah had not ruled out future military confrontation.

"Surrender is not in the dictionary of the resistance," he said. "We cannot remain patient indefinitely. There are limits."

While Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have said Hezbollah must ultimately disarm in line with the constitution, they have also demanded that Israel withdraw and release detained Lebanese citizens.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a key Hezbollah ally, is reportedly mediating discussions between the group and the government.

Qassem concluded by blaming what he called the "horrific administrative backwardness" of Lebanon's former leadership under Assad-aligned regimes for the many logistical and intelligence gaps Hezbollah now faces.

"The deposed regime left us a heavy and frightening legacy of dysfunction," he said. "It makes our task in addressing this complex and painful situation much more difficult."