Netanyahu confirms ordering Lebanon pager attacks, Nasrallah killing 'despite senior officials' opposition'

Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time acknowledged Israel’s role in the pager attack on Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah in September, which killed nearly 40 people and wounded nearly 3,000.

A report by AFP quoted Israeli PM spokesperson Omer Dostri as saying, “Netanyahu confirmed Sunday (October 10) that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon.”

Why is Netanyahu’s confirmation important?

The explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members in September were widely blamed on Israel, but till now it did not confirm or deny involvement.

However, the day after pagers began exploding across Lebanon, then-defence minister of Israel Yoav Gallant, whom Netanyahu fired on Tuesday, seemed to acknowledge his country’s role. But there was no formal admission or claim made by Israel before Sunday.

In mid-September, hand-held devices, including pagers and walkie-talkies, used by Hezbollah operatives detonated back-to-back for two days in supermarkets, on streets and at funerals.

Hezbollah had previously blamed its arch-foe for the blasts that dealt a major blow on them, and vowed revenge.

Pager attacks, Nasrallah killing launched despite opposition

During the Cabinet meeting on November 10, Netanyahu also confirmed that he gave direct orders to the Israeli forces to eliminate Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah who was killed in a precision strike in Beirut.

“The pager operation and the elimination of Nasrallah were carried out despite the opposition of senior officials in the defence establishment and those responsible for them in the political echelon,” a report by The Times of Israel quoted Netanyahu as saying.

Netanyahu shares about his conversation with Trump

Netanyahu spoke about three times in recent days with US President-elect Donald Trump.

“These were very good and very important conversations, aimed at strengthening the solid alliance between Israel and the United States," the Israeli PM said ahead of the Cabinet meeting on Sunday.

“We see eye-to-eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects and the danger it poses. We also see the great opportunities before Israel – in peace and expansion, and in other areas," Netanyahu said.

Lebanon files complaint with UN

Netanyahu’s admission about the pager attacks comes just days after Lebanon filed lodged a complaint against Israel at the United Nations over deadly pager attacks, blaming Tel Aviv for raging an “egregious war against humanity, against technology, against work”.

As per a report by AP, Lebanese labour minister Moustafa Bayram and other officials travelled to Geneva and formally filed the complaint on Tuesday against Israel at the International Labor Organisation, a UN agency that brings together governments, businesses, and workers.

“This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” Bayram said.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent, if not condemned. We are in a situation where ordinary objects — objects used in daily life — become dangerous and lethal," he said.

After Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war as well as escalated tensions in West Asia, its ally Hezbollah began low intensity strikes on Israel.

The strikes have intensified since war broke out in Lebanon in late September, when Israel escalated its air campaign against Hezbollah and later sent ground troops into south Lebanon.

With inputs from agencies.