“Netanyahu Confirms Approval of Lebanon Pager Attacks, Nearly 40 Dead and 3,000 Hezbollah Wounded”
Netanyahu Confirms Approval of Lebanon Pager Attacks: In a recent statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that he authorized the series of pager explosions in Lebanon that killed nearly 40 Hezbollah members and injured around 3,000. The confirmation came from his spokesperson Omer Dostri, speaking to AFP, who said that Netanyahu had “okayed” the operation, which targeted communication devices used by Hezbollah in an effort to prevent Israeli tracking.
On September 17 and 18, thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah members exploded across the group’s strongholds. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, condemned the blasts as an “Israeli breach” of its communications network, warning that it would retaliate. The blasts inflicted severe injuries on some Hezbollah members, with reports indicating that several fighters suffered eye injuries and others lost fingers.
This attack marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border confrontations since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas. Following Hamas’s October 7 assault on Israeli towns, Israel has broadened its military objectives to include operations against Hezbollah along the Lebanese border. Hezbollah, a powerful Iran-backed group, is considered Hamas’s ally and has been the target of numerous Israeli strikes over the past year.
Amid rising casualties, Lebanon recently filed a formal complaint with the United Nations Labor Agency, describing the pager attacks as a “war against humanity.” Since October of the previous year, Lebanese sources estimate that over 3,000 individuals have been killed due to Israeli operations in Lebanon, highlighting the intensity of the conflict.
This latest admission by Netanyahu comes in the wake of intensified Israeli strikes, including a series of air raids on Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut. On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit near Lebanon’s sole international airport, causing minor damage to airport facilities, including areas used by Middle East Airlines. The escalation underscores Israel’s ongoing strategy to counter both Hezbollah and Hamas, whom Israel perceives as major security threats in the region.
