Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged for the first time in September that he had given the green light to an operation against Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in which thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded in parts of Lebanon and Syria. , dozens of people died.
According to leaked comments, Prime Minister Netanyahu told Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting that the attack and Israeli assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in a Beirut airstrike that month, “despite the opposition of some Israeli officials.” He said it was carried out. In the Times of Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments came after he fired Defense Minister Yoav Galant on Tuesday, over long-simmering differences between the two over how Israel should wage its wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The peak has been reached. Prime Minister Netanyahu said there was a “crisis of trust” between the two sides. He appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz as his successor.
Mr. Gallant was close to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and the two spoke frequently. His dismissal on the day of the U.S. election was seen by some Israeli observers as a sign that Netanyahu was behind the scenes trying to purge his government of opposition. One US official said this was concerning.
The pager attack escalated Israel’s attacks on Hezbollah. A few days later, Israel intensified its airstrikes on Lebanese territory, primarily in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israeli forces then entered Lebanon and conducted their first ground air raids since 2006.
Israel’s latest attack on Lebanon occurred on Saturday, killing 53 people, bringing the death toll in the country to 3,186, local officials said.
Hezbollah has been firing rockets almost daily into northern Israel for more than a year, ever since October 7, 2023, when its Iranian-backed ally Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people. More than 200 Israelis were taken hostage. Israel responded by launching an ongoing siege of Gaza that has left at least 43,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry. This has created a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the densely populated enclave.
Hezbollah and Hamas are both part of Iranian-funded militias in the region, known as the “Axis of Resistance.”
Contributed by: Reuters
