Netanyahu Admits Israel’s Role In Pager Blasts Targeting Hezbollah Operatives

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Netanyahu Admits Israel’s Role In Pager Blasts Targeting Hezbollah Operatives

11-Nov-2024 514

The pager blasts injured and killed Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon earlier this year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged Israeli role in pager blasts that targeted Hezbollah operatives in September. The pager operation and the elimination of [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah were carried out despite the opposition of senior officials in the defence establishment and those responsible for them in the political echelon," the Israeli Prime Minister was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel on Sunday.

Hand-held devices used by Hezbollah operatives detonated two days in a row in supermarkets, on streets, and at funerals in mid-September.

They killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000, and preceded Israel’s ongoing military operation in Lebanon.

Omer Dostri, the Israeli PM’s spokesperson, also confirmed that Netanayahu spoke of Israel’s involvement in the pager blasts.

“Netanyahu confirmed Sunday that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon," Dostri told news agency AFP.

Hezbollah had previously blamed its arch foe for the blasts that dealt a major blow to the Iran-backed militant group and vowed revenge. The Israeli PM’s admission could be the first time Israel has acknowledged its role in the pager blasts.

Israel has so far publicly denied its role in the pager blasts. Since late September, Israel has been engaged in a two-front war after turning its focus north towards Lebanon.

Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israel in support of Hamas following its ally’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel which triggered the Gaza war.

Israel escalated air strikes and later sent in ground troops after almost a year of tit-for-tat exchanges of fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah. The Lebanese group said it was acting in support of Hamas.

The war in Gaza erupted with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 43,603 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which the UN considers reliable. (Agency)