Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized the detonation of wireless communication devices, or pagers, in Lebanon during security discussions with top ministers and intelligence leaders earlier this week, according to a report by the Israeli news site Walla.
The report, citing unnamed senior American officials, indicated on Tuesday that Israel was behind the explosions in Lebanon, which resulted in nine deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries, including 200 in critical condition. This came despite efforts by Netanyahu’s office to distance itself from a now-deleted social media post by his advisor, Topaz Luk, which hinted at Israel’s involvement in the attacks.
Pagers, commonly used by civilians and healthcare workers for communication, are compact, battery-powered devices that receive text messages, audio, and visual signals.
Walla reported that the operation “disabled a significant portion of Hezbollah’s military command and control infrastructure.”
Hezbollah confirmed that at least two of its members were killed, and many others were injured in the blast.
Israeli authorities acknowledged the heightened risk of a major escalation on the northern border and stated that the military is on “high alert” for a large-scale retaliation from Hezbollah.
An unnamed Israeli source told the website that the decision to target the pagers was made earlier in the week during Netanyahu’s consultations with senior ministers and leaders of the defense and intelligence communities.
Schools Suspended in Lebanon
In response, Lebanon announced the closure of all schools and educational institutions on Wednesday.
“We announce the closure of public and private schools, the Lebanese University, and all private higher education institutions tomorrow, Wednesday, in protest against the criminal act committed by the Israeli enemy against civilians,” said Education Minister Abbas Halabi on Tuesday.
Halabi also appealed to the “global conscience to intervene and stop the Israeli killing machine, which indiscriminately targets civilians and has carried out an unprecedented collective crime against the Lebanese people.”
Lebanese media attributed the explosions to an Israeli breach of the country’s communication network.
Hezbollah placed full responsibility on Israel for the wireless explosions and vowed “swift and unexpected retaliation” against Tel Aviv.
In a related development, the Lebanese Health Ministry urged all citizens in possession of pager communication devices to immediately dispose of them.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
