IDF displays thousands of Hezbollah weapons, shares details on pager operation
Israeli forces killed some 3,800 Hezbollah fighters plus some 44 amid ceasefire, army says, citing terror group’s violations; military to erect temporary posts in Syria buffer zone
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces has established a massive display of Hezbollah weapons captured by troops in southern Lebanon and shared new estimates of the terror group’s casualties during the fighting, as well as offered new details on the “pager operation” some three months ago that kicked off Israel’s offensive against the Iranian proxy.
Israel and Hezbollah reached a ceasefire agreement last month, more than a year after the terror group began attacking the Jewish state on October 8, 2023, firing rockets and drones at communities along the Israel-Lebanon border a day after fellow terror group Hamas invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip.
At an army base in northern Israel this week, the IDF invited journalists to view arms and other equipment from among some 85,170 individual items captured from Hezbollah during the fighting.
The weapons and equipment were captured by IDF troops during operations in over 30 villages in southern Lebanon since late September.
On display were some 6,840 RPG rockets and anti-tank missiles, including 340 Russian-made Kornets, along with their launchers; 9,000 explosive devices and grenades; 2,250 unguided rockets and mortars; 2,700 assault rifles; 2,860 other guns, including sniper rifles; and 60 anti-aircraft missiles.
The army also showed 20 captured Hezbollah vehicles; 60,800 pieces of electronic equipment, communication devices, computers, and documents; and 300 pieces of surveillance equipment.
Hezbollah’s weapons are sourced mostly from Russia and Iran, and some are locally produced, military sources said.
IDF officials said that some of the weapons that meet Israel’s military standard — including the mortars — will be put to use by the army.
3,800 Hezbollah fighters killed
The IDF said Wednesday that it assessed it had killed some 3,800 Hezbollah operatives during the fighting in Lebanon, including 2,762 killed during an Israeli ground offensive launched in late September. Thousands more operatives were wounded.
Additionally, at least 44 Hezbollah operatives have been killed by the IDF since the ceasefire was reached, the army said, arguing they had violated the ceasefire by operating in southern Lebanon or at sites affiliated with Hezbollah.
The vast majority of Hezbollah’s senior command, 13 members, and former leader Hassan Nasrallah, were also killed by the IDF.
The army believes it has destroyed about 70% of Hezbollah’s “strategic weapons,” including long-range missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and anti-ship missiles; and some 75% of its short-range rocket launchers.
Hezbollah is now in a position where it is unable to carry out any major attacks on Israel, according to the IDF’s assessments.
Pager operation
The IDF also said it had played a key role in the so-called pager operation against Hezbollah, during which thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in the hands of members of the terror group some three months ago.
The operation was launched some 10 years ago as a joint IDF and Mossad project, as part of preparations in the military to surprise its enemies during a war.
The Mossad’s role in the operation was revealed earlier this week by two former agents who appeared on CBS.
On Wednesday, the army shared some details on its part in the plan. Israeli intelligence efforts ramped up from the beginning of the war with an eye toward implementing the operation. The army said a team of intel experts operated out of a secret surveillance base in northern Israel to bring together research, surveillance and operational capabilities relating to the project.
The IDF recommended holding off on deploying the exploding pagers until the northern front became the main front of the war, and not during an earlier stage when the primary front was still the Gaza Strip.
The pagers were set off on September 17, and a day later walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah also blew up.
The military said the level of intelligence that it had on Hezbollah, and the correct and effective use of that intelligence, were key to defeating the terror group.
The military said the intelligence enabled the IDF to degrade Hezbollah’s capabilities and target its top commanders while keeping the terror group in the dark — particularly its late Nasrallah.
In the days following the pager operation, the Israeli Air Force hit thousands of targets across Lebanon, taking out much of the terror group’s rocket and drone capabilities.
Nasrallah was assassinated when Israel bombed his bunker in Beirut on September 27, days before the IDF launched its ground offensive in Lebanon.
Posts in Syria
The IDF also said Wednesday that it was readying to build temporary army posts inside a buffer zone between Israel and Syria, as the military has been instructed by political officials to maintain its forward defenses there during the winter months.
The military said the army posts are intended to ensure that troops can operate in southern Syria throughout the winter.
The posts will be dismantled when the army is instructed to leave the buffer zone, according to the IDF.
