Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized deadly explosive pager attacks against the Hezbollah terrorist group in September, his office announced for the first time on Monday.
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the Israeli leader gave the approval after claiming responsibility for the September 17 massacre in a closed cabinet meeting, The Times of Israel reported.
Prime Minister Netanyahu told his cabinet that senior defense officials and politicians tried to object to the detonation of thousands of weaponized pagers across Lebanon, but the operation went ahead anyway.
“The pager operation and the removal of (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah were carried out despite the opposition of senior defense officials and heads of the political hierarchy,” Prime Minister Netanyahu reportedly said during the meeting.
This sophisticated attack, which Israel refused to address publicly at the time, caused thousands of pagers to explode simultaneously in Beirut and other Hezbollah strongholds, killing 39 people and injuring more than 3,400.
The pagers, and the hundreds of walkie-talkies that exploded the next day, suddenly began to heat up and explode in their owners’ hands or pockets after beeping to indicate a message had been received.
The majority of victims were members of Hezbollah or associated with members.
The explosive-laden device prompted Hezbollah leaders to warn fighters not to carry cellphones, which could be used to track their movements or carry out targeted attacks. It was recently distributed to members after a warning was issued.
In the aftermath, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government publicly blamed the attack on “Israeli aggression,” and Iran-backed militants vowed to retaliate for the explosion in the remote area.
Hezbollah’s top commander, Hassan Nasrallah, said the attack amounted to a “declaration of war.”
Hezbollah officials later described the attack as the terror group’s “biggest security breach” in its year-long war with Israel.
with post wire
