Media: Israel has been preparing pager-bombing operation for 15 years

A US intelligence source has confirmed that Israel's involvement in the manufacture of pagers designed to explode on Hezbollah operatives has been part of a "supply chain interdiction" operation planned for at least 15 years.

The CIA, historically hesitant to employ such tactics due to the high risk to civilians, reportedly sanctioned this operation after extensive planning involving shell companies and layers of Israeli intelligence officers, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The pagers, equipped with one to two ounces of explosives and a remote trigger switch, were detonated remotely, resulting in at least 37 fatalities and 2,931 injuries over the past two days in Lebanon, as confirmed by Lebanese Health Minister Firass Al-Abyad.

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel escalated further on September 19, with Israel conducting strikes on Lebanon and Hezbollah returning fire.

The New York Times first reported on Israel's role in the operation, indicating that some workers involved in the manufacturing process were unaware of the true nature of their tasks.

ABC News has attempted to contact BAC Consulting, the Hungary-based firm involved in the production for Taiwan's Gold Apollo, but received no response.

In a speech on September 19, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah stated that the group had not yet distributed all of the pagers and claimed that their leadership had been using older devices. He accused Israel of attempting to kill at least 5,000 people, emphasizing that the devices numbered around 4,000.