One Step Ahead
By Ethan Harel
If there is one name that deserves to be remembered whenever Israel’s audacious pager operation against Hezbollah is discussed, it is Yael Barekat. This brilliant, tenacious young Mossad agent didn’t just participate in the mission—she conceived it, fought for it, and ultimately drove it to success. Her vision and unwavering determination may well have saved the small nation of Israel at a critical moment.
Two years before the horrors of October 7, 2023, Yael and her Mossad colleagues were deeply embedded inside Hezbollah’s organization. They had infiltrated its communications so thoroughly that they could monitor almost every modern device the group used. Then came the pivotal moment: while listening in, Yael overheard Sammy—one of Hassan Nasrallah’s most trusted confidants—discussing the urgent need to switch to primitive, low-tech devices. Hezbollah wanted something the Israelis could not hack or trace. Yael instantly understood the danger. If Hezbollah went dark, Israel would be left blind and deaf to the plans of Iran’s most lethal proxy. That single conversation planted the seed for one of the most creative and daring operations in Mossad history.
When Yael first proposed selling Hezbollah thousands of booby-trapped pagers, she faced fierce resistance. Her superior officer—ironically also her former lover—dismissed the idea. Senior IDF commanders ridiculed it. Yet she refused to back down. She persisted, argued, and refused to let the concept die. Eventually, her passion and logic prevailed.
The operation’s success hinged on exploiting a key weakness: George, a Hezbollah procurement contact who had a well-known fondness for sharp, beautiful businesswomen. Mossad deployed agent Shira to befriend him. Weeks of carefully orchestrated dinners, charm, and persuasion followed. In the end, Shira secured the order—4,000 pagers.
The book takes readers deep into the high-stakes world of building and delivering these devices. Multiple times the entire deal nearly collapsed. Mossad agents were forced to slip into Beirut twice: once to reassure George and Sammy that everything was legitimate, and again to bypass a security firewall after Hezbollah grew suspicious that the pagers had been rigged. The tension is palpable on every page.
In the end, we all know what happened. On September 17, 2024, thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon, decapitating Hezbollah’s command structure in one devastating blow. Another spectacularly successful Israeli operation—one that might never have occurred without the courage and persistence of a single young woman named Yael Barekat.
This is more than just a spy thriller; it is the remarkable true story of how one agent’s refusal to accept “no” changed the course of a war. Highly recommended.
