“Explosion of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon: Israel said it was not involved in the operation September 22, 17:34 Share: One of the wounded as a result of the explosion of Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon, September 20, 2024 (Photo:REUTERS/Ali Hankir) President of Israel Yitzhak Herzog denied his country’s involvement in the recent bombing of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon. In a comment to Sky News, Herzog said that he “rejects any connection with any source”, — write on: ua.news
One of the wounded as a result of the detonation of Hezbollah pagers in Lebanon, September 20, 2024 (Photo: REUTERS/Ali Hankir)
Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog has denied his country’s involvement in the recent bombing of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon.
Speaking to Sky News, Herzog said he “rejects any connection to any source of operations”, adding that Hezbollah has many enemies.
He also said Israel was “not interested” in war with Lebanon, but that the country had been taken over by Hezbollah and Israel was fighting “for the entire free world.” The president of Israel admitted that there is a possibility “dramatic aggravation of the situation”.
“Modern Trojan Horse”. The NYT has revealed shocking new details of Israel’s pager operation in Lebanon
Asked whether Israel would launch missile strikes against Iran, Herzog said his country has “always made it clear” that it will defend its people and “remove any threats that are vital to the state of Israel.”
In addition, he stated that Hezbollah “armed to the teeth with Iran’s evil empire” and added that Iran wants “conquer the Middle East and advance to Europe and the rest of the world.”
Blowing up Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon – what is known
On September 17, in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, pagers used for communication by members of the Hezbollah group exploded en masse, within a few hours it was known that about 1,000 people were injured.
The IDF refused to comment on the explosions to Reuters journalists.
Later, the BBC, citing the Lebanese Ministry of Health, reported that as a result of the explosions, at least eight people were killed and at least 2,750 were injured. According to local media, 12 people died. Israel is called the main suspect.
Since the start of the Gaza conflict in 2023, Hezbollah has warned its members not to use mobile phones for fear that Israeli intelligence agents could tamper with them, explained the BBC’s security correspondent Frank Gardner about the use of pagers.
Among the injured is Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani. Iranian state television reported that his wounds “superficial”, and that he is “conscious and in no danger”.
On September 18, Reuters, citing a senior Lebanese security official and another informed source, reported that Israel’s Mossad secret service planted a small amount of explosives in 5,000 Taiwanese pagers ordered by the Lebanese group Hezbollah a few months before the series of explosions.
The explosive device, hidden in 3,000 pagers, went off simultaneously after a coded message was sent, the source said. Another source added that Hezbollah was unable to detect up to three grams of explosives hidden in each device for several months.
On September 18, portable radios used by Hezbollah, purchased at about the same time as the pagers that exploded the day before, were also detonated in Lebanon. It was reported that as a result of the new wave of explosions, 14 people were killed and up to 450 people were injured.
The mass media wrote that the radios were mined in advance by the Israeli special services, and then handed over to Hezbollah, as part of the emergency communication system that should be used during the war with Israel.