Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted to authorizing the bombing attacks in Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of around 40 and injuries to 3,000 Iran-backed Hezbollah members in September.
“Netanyahu confirmed on Sunday that he approved the bombing operation in Lebanon,” said his spokesperson Omer Dostri to news agency AFP.
Thousands of bombings occurred in Hezbollah strongholds on September 17 and 18 – an act that Iran and Hezbollah attributed to Israel. Some of the injured Hezbollah members reportedly suffered the loss of fingers or eyesight.
Hezbollah condemned the bombings as an “Israeli violation” of their communication network and vowed to retaliate.
The pagers used by Hezbollah members were a low-tech method of communication to avoid Israeli tracking.
The bombings took place shortly after Israel announced it was expanding its conflict against Hamas on October 7 to include Hezbollah along the Lebanese border.
Last week, Lebanon filed a complaint with the United Nations Labor Agency regarding the deadly attack, labeling it a “flagrant act of war against humanity”.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in conflict along the Lebanese border since the Gaza war started after Hamas’ attacks on Israeli towns on October 7 the previous year. Numerous Hezbollah fighters, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, have been killed. Israel’s military also confirmed the elimination of Hezbollah’s Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to Nasrallah, in a strike in southern Beirut.
Recently, Israel carried out airstrikes on Hezbollah’s stronghold in south Beirut, with one strike causing minor damage to buildings near Lebanon’s international airport, including those of Middle East Airlines.
Over 3,000 individuals have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since October of last year.
