New in SpyWeek: Israel's 'Brilliant' Pager Op, Secret Service Fail, CIA Rape Cases, Ex-GOP Spooks Diss Trump

Welcome to SpyWeek, where we look at the latest news from the intersection of intelligence, foreign policy, and military operations.

Next in Lebanon, exploding toasters? Hezbollah has to wonder, given the “internet of things.” And that was the point.

CALL FOR MR. NASRALLAH: The back-to-back operations that blew up thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives this week were a stark reminder that Israel possesses not just world-class intelligence capabilities but also has no qualms about using them in a way few agencies would.

The coordinated attacks in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 37 people, including two children, and wounded more than 3,000. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amini, lost one eye and severely injured his other eye Tuesday when a pager he was carrying exploded. The pagers exploded in homes, supermarkets, and taxis and ripped through what The Washington Post called Hezbollah’s “society in arms”—a vast network of reservists and logistical operatives.

The attacks left Hezbollah humiliated, reeling, and demoralized. Its command and control was in shambles. Its reputation as one of Israel’s most sophisticated foes was shredded. Its fighters were afraid to answer the phone, unsure of who—or what—could be trusted. Now they have to wonder about anything connected to the internet.

Former White House Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert said Hezbollah operatives will spend years worried that everything they touch might explode. “They're probably looking at everything they pull out of their pockets and everything that they have in their house and everything that they touch on a daily basis,” Bossert told Michael Isikoff on the SpyTalk podcast.“

Marc Polymeropoulos, a former CIA senior operations officer who served in counterterrorism roles in the Middle East, called it the “most impressive denied area kinetic op I have witnessed in my career.”