In first official confirmation, Israel says Netanyahu approved Hezbollah pager attack

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a series of pager attacks that struck a deadly blow to the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in September, according to a report, citing Omer Dostri, spokesperson for Netanyahu’ office.

According to The Times of Israel report, this marks the first official confirmation that Israel was behind the attacks, although Hezbollah and others had already widely attributed blame to Israel.

On September 17, thousands of pagers simultaneously detonated in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other Hezbollah strongholds, most of them after emitting a beep signaling an incoming message.

A Hezbollah official, speaking anonymously, called the incident the “biggest security breach” the group had faced in nearly a year of conflict with Israel.

Among the victims rushed to the hospital, many suffered severe injuries, including eye trauma, missing fingers, and gaping abdominal wounds, suggesting their proximity to the devices at the time of detonation, according to Reuters witnesses.

In total, the pager attacks, along with a follow-up assault the next day involving weaponized walkie-talkies, resulted in 39 deaths and more than 3,400 injuries.

Earlier, Israeli media had reported that Netanyahu claimed responsibility for the attack during a closed-door cabinet meeting, telling ministers that senior defence officials and political figures were opposed to the detonation of the pagers but that he went ahead with the operation.

Hezbollah operatives have been using pagers instead of phones as a low-tech means of communication in an attempt to evade Israeli location-tracking, two sources familiar with the group’s operations told Reuters this year.

A pager is a wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays messages.

Israel followed up the pager detonations with the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike and incursions in south Lebanon.

Hezbollah began firing rockets at Israel on October 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas massacre that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage.

Israel stepped up its assault on Hezbollah in September in a bid to get tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis safely back to their homes in northern Israel.

With inputs from agencies