Netanyahu Approved Pager Attacks Against Hezbollah, Spokesman Confirms

Israel’s prime minister said he did it over senior officials’ objections, seen as a criticism of recently fired Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

A person is carried on a stretcher outside American University of Beirut Medical Center as people, including Hezbollah terrorists, were wounded and killed when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 17, 2024. Mohamed Azakir/Reuters

Israel has confirmed for the first time that it was behind the pager and radio attacks that killed or wounded thousands of members of the Hezbollah terrorist group in September, as Israel prepared for a ground war against the group.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally approved the attacks, his office’s spokesperson said on Nov. 11.