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ZDF Documentary Reconstructs Israeli ‘Operation Apollo’ That Crippled Hezbollah With Exploding Pagers

The film details a supply‑chain sting with engineered blasts that maimed thousands, drawing sharp legal scrutiny.

Overview

  • ZDF’s investigation says thousands of devices detonated across Lebanon on September 17–18, 2024, killing 38 and injuring more than 3,000 while largely disabling Hezbollah’s command network.
  • Former Mossad officials describe infiltrating procurement via shell companies, licensing Gold Apollo branding, and delivering roughly 5,000 altered AR‑924 pagers to senior cadres.
  • Technical experts outline remotely triggered charges designed to channel blast energy toward the face or hands, with a dim display and an “Error—press OK” prompt to lure users closer.
  • The documentary features wounded Hezbollah members recounting permanent injuries and reports a near‑exposure averted when an Israeli strike killed a technician slated to examine the devices.
  • The release intensifies a legal and political clash, with Hezbollah calling for war‑crimes action as scholar Stefan Talmon questions booby‑trap claims and Netanyahu later gifts a gilded pager to President Trump.