'Israel' detonated pagers early fearing Hezbollah would expose plot
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Axios reports that the decision was made following heavy security consultations in "Israel" on Tuesday.
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An ambulance rushes people wounded due to the detonations of pagers booby-trapped by "Israel" to a hospital in Beirut on September 17, 2024, (AP)
"Israel" chose to detonate the booby-trapped pager devices in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday fearing that Hezbollah may have uncovered its covert plan, Axios reported citing three US officials.
"It was a use it or lose it moment," one US official said, explaining the rationale that the occupation offered to the US regarding the timing of the terrorist attack.
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A former Israeli official familiar with the operation stated that Israeli intelligence had intended to trigger the pagers as a surprise opening strike in a full-scale war against Hezbollah.
In recent days, Israeli leaders grew worried that Hezbollah might uncover the pagers, the report said.
According to Al-Monitor, two Hezbollah Resistance fighters suspected that the pagers had been tampered with and planned to inform their superiors. One found out days ago and was killed, and the other found out days after the first, and planned to alert them as well. It was then that Israeli security apparatuses weighed their options.
Though their original plan was to detonate the pagers during a war with Hezbollah, they then proceeded to detonate the explosives prematurely rather than risk the plan being discovered.
According to a US official, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his senior ministers, military leaders, and intelligence chiefs, opted to activate the system immediately to avoid the risk of Hezbollah discovering it.
US President Joe Biden's envoy Amos Hochstein visited "Israel" on Monday. Netanyahu, his Security Minister Yoav Gallant, and other senior officials were then deeply involved in security discussions regarding the potential of the operation being potentially compromised. But despite their ongoing consultations, they did not disclose any details of the situation to Hochstein during their meeting, a US official added.
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'Israel' contacted US before operation
According to the news site, Gallant contacted US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin just minutes before the pagers began detonating across Lebanon, informing him that "Israel" was preparing to launch an operation in Lebanon shortly, though he declined to provide any specific details.
A US official mentioned that while the Israelis did not share the specific details of the operation, Gallant's call was intended to avoid leaving Washington completely uninformed.
However, US officials did not view the call as a meaningful prior notice.
"We were not aware of this operation and were not involved," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday.
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Hezbollah held the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the wide-scale aggression, which left approximately 3,000 people injured, with more than 11 martyrs, including two children, after pagers were detonated simultaneously across Lebanon. Hundreds of the wounded remain in critical condition.
The Lebanese Resistance affirmed that the martyrs and wounded fuel the ongoing struggle on the path to al-Quds, standing in solidarity with the people of Gaza and the occupied West Bank. They also emphasized the continued support on the northern front as a crucial means of bolstering the Palestinian Resistance.
"The treacherous and criminal enemy will undoubtedly face its just punishment for this heinous attack, in ways both expected and unforeseen," the group said.
