Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the airstrikes that dealt a deadly blow to the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah in September, his office spokesman Omer Dostri said on Monday, the 11th of November, reports Reuters.
The Israeli military, which has been engaged in cross-border fighting with Hezbollah since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, initially refused to answer questions about the bombings.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu claimed responsibility for the attack during a cabinet meeting and told ministers that senior defence officials and political figures had objected to the detonation of the pagers, but that he had carried on the operation.
On the 17th of September, thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously in the southern suburbs of Beirut and at other Hezbollah strongpoints, in most cases after the devices beeped to signal an incoming message.
An anonymous Hezbollah official said the incident was the “biggest security breach” for the group in its nearly year-long conflict with Israel.
Among the casualties taken to hospital, many suffered eye wounds, severed fingers or holes in the abdomen. In total, 39 people were killed and more than 3 400 injured in the pager attack and similar walkie-talkie detonations the following day.
Following the pager detonation, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike and launched incursions into southern Lebanon.