Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has confirmed that he gave approval for the pager attacks in Lebanon in September. These attacks injured 3,000 members of Iran-backed Hezbollah and killed almost 40. Netanyahu's spokesperson, Omer Dostri, shared this information on Sunday, saying that the Prime Minister had "greenlighted" or allowed the operation to happen.

The attacks took place on September 17 and 18, when many pagers used by Hezbollah members to avoid Israeli tracking exploded in areas controlled by the group. Hezbollah blamed Israel for the explosions, which caused serious injuries, including people losing fingers and their eyesight. The group called it an "Israeli breach" of their communication system and promised to take revenge.

The explosions happened soon after Israel announced it would expand its military actions. At first, Israel was focused on Hamas, but now it also plans to target Hezbollah along the Lebanese border. Hezbollah is a close ally of Hamas, which attacked Israeli towns on October 7, 2023.

Lebanon files complaint over deadly attack as tensions escalate

After the deadly attack, Lebanon made a complaint to the United Nations Labour Agency, calling the strikes a "serious crime against humanity." The fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been going on along the Lebanese border since the war in Gaza started. Israel has also confirmed that several Hezbollah fighters have been killed, including Hashem Safieddine, who was said to be the next leader of Hezbollah after Hassan Nasrallah.

In the past week, Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah’s main areas in southern Beirut, causing some small damage near Lebanon's international airport. Since the conflict started in October last year, more than 3,000 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon.