Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the deadly exploding pager attacks on the Hezbollah terror group back in September, his office said for the first time Monday.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office confirmed that the Israeli leader gave the sign-off after he claimed responsibility for the Sept. 17 massacre during a closed-door cabinet meeting, the Times of Israel reported.
Netanyahu had told ministers that senior defense officials and political figures had tried to oppose the detonation of the thousands of weaponized pagers across Lebanon but that he went ahead with the operation anyway.
“The pager operation and the elimination of [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah were carried out despite the opposition of senior officials in the defense establishment and those responsible for them in the political echelon,” Netanyahu reportedly said during the meeting.
The sophisticated attack, which Israel refused to publicly address at the time, saw thousands of pagers simultaneously explode in Beirut and other Hezbollah strongholds — killing 39 people and leaving more than 3,400 others injured.
The pagers — and hundreds of walkie-talkies that blew up en masse the next day — suddenly started heating up and exploding in their owners’ hands or pockets after the devices beeped, indicating an incoming message.
The majority of those hit were members or linked to members of Hezbollah.
The explosive-laden devices had recently been distributed to members after Hezbollah’s leader warned his fighters not to carry cellphones — telling them they could be used to track their movements or carry out targeted strikes.
In the aftermath, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government publicly blamed the attack on “Israeli aggression” — with the Iran-backed militant group vowing to retaliate over the remote blasts.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the attack was tantamount to “a declaration of war.”
A Hezbollah official later described the attack as the “biggest security breach” for the terror group in its year-long fight with Israel.
With Post wires
