Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu admits involvement in the explosive pager attack, sparking international reactions and concerns over regional stability.
For the first time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that Israeli special services were responsible for a sabotage operation in Lebanon. This operation resulted in thousands of handheld pagers and radios exploding, leading to dozens of deaths and injuring thousands more.
On September 17, thousands of pagers predominantly used by Hezbollah militants exploded simultaneously across Lebanon and parts of Syria. The next day, a similar series of explosions affected hundreds of walkie-talkies. These attacks resulted in the deaths of at least 42 individuals, including 12 civilians, and inflicted injuries on over 3,500 people—including women and children.
The attack was largely credited to Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, and considered a preemptive action. Following this event, Israel escalated its assaults on Lebanon, leading to the death of Hezbollah’s long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on Beirut on September 27.
During Sunday’s weekly cabinet meeting, Netanyahu stated that “the pager operation and the elimination of Nasrallah were carried out despite opposition from senior officials in the defense establishment and their superiors in the political echelon,” as reported by Israeli media. His spokesman, Omer Dostri, confirmed to AFP and CNN that the prime minister did indeed authorize the pager operation in Lebanon.
The identity of those who opposed the operations remains uncertain, but earlier this week, Netanyahu dismissed Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. He accused Gallant of “breach of trust” and mentioned “significant gaps” between their respective stances on the conflict against Hamas and Hezbollah.
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Israel initiated its conflict with Hamas, and subsequently with Hezbollah, following an attack by the Palestinian militant group on southern Israel on October 7 of the previous year. This assault resulted in approximately 1,100 casualties and over 200 individuals being taken hostage into Gaza.
According to the Gaza health ministry, Israel’s large-scale military retaliation has resulted in approximately 43,500 deaths within the enclave. In Lebanon, Israeli strikes have reportedly killed over 3,100 individuals and injured an additional 13,000 people as per local officials. Despite international calls for Israel to cease hostilities and seek a negotiated resolution to the crisis, both military operations are continuing.
Up to this point, Israel had not taken responsibility for the pager attacks, and its allies have denied any involvement. The plan attracted widespread international criticism, with UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk describing it as a “shocking” and “unacceptable” violation of human rights laws.
In a statement to the UN General Assembly in September, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asserted that “there can be no justification for acts of terrorism” against Israelis on October 7 last year. However, he emphasized that “anyone with a sense of compassion is outraged by how the tragedy from October is being exploited for widespread collective punishment.”
“Another blatant example of using terrorist tactics to achieve political objectives is the brutal attack on Lebanon, which turned civilian technology into a deadly weapon,” Lavrov stated, urging for an immediate international investigation.
