DAY 348 OF THE WAR: Hezbollah’s Electronic Devices Continue to Explode, Leaving them With Limited Means of Communication, Four More Soldiers Killed in Gaza

Tel Aviv Diary, September 18, 2024

ZOOM BRIEFING— Sunday, September 22nd • 6 PM Israel, 4 PM GB, 11 AM EDT, 8 AM PDT

Yesterday, as I was returning home to Tel Aviv, I turned to the person sitting next to me on the plane, a lovely woman my age from Tiberias, and mentioned that something significant was happening in Israel—though I had no idea what. I had read reports that intensive defense meetings were taking place, and Netanyahu's planned dismissal of Defense Minister Gallant had been postponed.

By the time I got off the train from the airport and began walking home, reports of explosions in Beirut were starting to surface. In hindsight, and as more details emerge, it seems the emergency security meetings were held because Israel may have learned that the tampered beepers were about to be discovered, exposing Israel’s secret weapon against Hezbollah. A decision had to be made— use it or lose it. A major operation, likely involving tremendous effort and not a small amount of risk, was about to be jeopardized, and the decision was made to proceed.

Whoever carried out the attack achieved what will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the most successful attacks on a terror organization. Nearly 3,000 terrorists were wounded in one moment, with almost no collateral damage. There had always been talk of secret weapons Israel possessed for use against Hezbollah. Imagine the impact of blowing up Hezbollah’s beeper communication network at the start of an all-out war.  One that now seems increasingly likely after yesterday’s successful operation.

There’s no doubt that the immediate effect is staggering. Not only have we removed thousands of fighters from Hezbollah’s ranks, but we’ve also had a tremendous psychological impact on Hezbollah—and likely on Iran—which will now fear using any electronic devices. The beepers were purchased from a company in Hungary and were acquired after Nassrallah ordered his men to stop using cellular phones .

This afternoon, 1,000 electronic devices exploded throughout Lebanon in a second wave of attacks. This wave involved larger devices, primarily targeting walkie-talkies, though other battery-powered devices were also impacted. The devices were physically larger than yesterday’s beepers, enabling them to hold more explosives and inflict more significant damage. According to the latest reports, over 450 people have been wounded and 14 have been killed, though that number is expected to rise. It is believed that today's devices may have been purchased simultaneously with the beepers that exploded yesterday.

The question remains: What is our strategy regarding Lebanon? I have yet to hear a coherent plan on how we intend to achieve our goal of returning the residents of the North to their homes through military action. A military operation may be our only option, but as I’ve said many times, this is not the optimal time to pursue such action. Reports indicate that one of the two IDF divisions operating in Gaza is withdrawing and will be redeployed to the North. That division, colloquially called the “Commando Division,” includes elements from Israel’s elite combat units.

There is a largely held belief that an all-out war may be coming in the next few days. However, the stunning success of these operations might give Hezbollah pause, as they do not know what else might be compromised. They might even consider accepting the US proposal for a ceasefire, unlikely but possible.

What does this mean for the hostages, languishing 348 days and counting in captivity under Gaza? It appears the government no longer considers them a priority (if it ever did). It is clear we are not going to reach an agreement with Sinwar on their release, and the removal of elite units from Gaza seems to virtually eliminate even the minimal chance of a successful rescue operation. So here we are, nearly a year into the war, and we are on the brink of granting Sinwar precisely what he wanted: a regional war.

The Saudi media have reported that 19 members of the Revolutionary Guard were killed and 300 were wounded in Syria due to exploding pagers. The Iranians deny this claim.

Eliot Cohen, a very respected military and strategic analyst, wrote an article in today’s  Atlantic titled, “Israel’s Strategic Win.” In the article, Cohen raises an interesting point:

Finally, there is a large community that is and must remain in the shadows, and that is cheering the Israelis on. In 1984, Hezbollah kidnapped William Francis Buckley, the CIA station chief in Beirut. For 15 months, they tortured him, before handing him over to a Palestinian group for execution. A tape of his shattered body and mind found its way to Washington. The CIA has never forgotten that. Other intelligence agencies around the world that work against Hezbollah and against Iran have not either. As professionals, they approve of daring and well-executed attacks against that organization, and the resulting goodwill is not to be despised either.

FOUR MORE IDF SOLDIERS KILLED IN GAZA

Last night, after settling in back home, I took our dog to the dog park, a place we visit every evening, and met with a group of regulars who have become friends. After being asked about my trip, the conversation quickly shifted to the day's events. I was asked if I had heard the news from Gaza. I said I had not and was told that, according to reports on social media, we had lost four soldiers in Gaza that day. One of the people there was able to independently confirm the information, and I knew that this morning I would wake up to heart-wrenching, terrible news, *hutar L’pirsum* (authorized for publication)…

Indeed, this morning, whatever high Israelis had felt yesterday, following successful operation in Lebanon vanished in a flash, when the country learned we had indeed lost four more precious soldiers in Gaza. The four soldiers—three from the Givati Brigade, and one a female paramedic—were killed when the building they were in exploded. Two additional soldiers were gravely wounded, and two others sustained moderate injuries. This fatal incident occurred in the Tel Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. Additionally, another soldier was seriously wounded when an anti-tank missile struck an armored personnel carrier.

The four soldiers who were killed were: Cpt. Daniel Mimon Toaff (23), a deputy company commander in the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Moreshet; Staff Sgt. Agam Naim (20), a paramedic with the 401st Armored Brigade’s 52nd Battalion, from Mishmarot; Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri (21), of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Yoshivia; and Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon (21), of the Givati Brigade’s Shaked Battalion, from Elazar.

This composite image shows IDF soldiers (from left to right) Staff Sgt. Dotan Shimon, Staff Sgt. Agam Naim, Staff Sgt. Amit Bakri and Cpt. Daniel Mimon Toaff, who were killed fighting in southern Gaza on September 17, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)

Agam Naim was the first female soldier to be killed in Gaza since the beginning of the ground operation. Agam had completed her service in Gaza and was about to start a new job as an instructor in the IDF’s paramedic course. However, Agam insisted on returning to Gaza one last time to say goodbye to the troops she had worked with. It is unclear why Agam entered the building with the soldiers.