Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave president Donald Trump An unusual gift during his most recent trip to Washington, DC, this week-a gold-plated pager.
The present was a nod to the Controversial mass attack believed it was performed by the Israeli Mossad Intelligence Agency against Hezbollah on September 17, 2024, in which thousands of pagers, walkie-like devices and radios exploded at the same time in Lebanon and Syria around 3:30 pm
A statement from Netanyahu’s office to Fox News Digital said: “The pager symbolizes the prime minister’s decision who led to a turning point in the war and marked the start of the strategic collapse of Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave President Donald Trump a gilded pager during a visit to the White House on February 6, 2024. (Israeli news agency for the government)
“This strategic operation reflects the power of Israel, technological superiority and tactical ingenuity in confront his opponents. “
An image obtained by Fox News Digital showed the pager mounted on a wooden plaque with a message on the device that said: “Press with both hands”, accompanied by a double downward arrow board, the same message that Reportedly showed moments Before the devices explode.
The plaque also came up with a message to Trump who called him the “greatest friend and ally” of Israel.
The statement seems to be the first time The Netanyahu office has responded publicly On the strike against the terrorist network in the summer.
Although the attacks were intended to focus on Hezbollah terrorists, the explosions were also injured, mutilated and killed civilians, including at least two children. In total, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the United Nations reported that 32 people were killed and 3,250 others were injured.
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A symbolic portrait of a young Lebanese girl who was killed in a fatal pager attack is placed next to flowers placed for the Lebanese embassy in Noord -Terheran, Iran, September 18, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/Nurphoto via Getty images)
UN experts in the field of human rights condemned the operation and said that the random nature of the attacks amounted to ‘war crimes’.
“These attacks violated the human right to life, without any indication that the victims were an imminent fatal threat at the time” told the OHCHR. “Such attacks require a fast, independent investigation to determine the truth and make responsibility possible for the crime of murder.”
Despite the limited number of terrorists killed in the widespread attacks, Israeli officials have defended the operation as a successful psychological blow to Hezbollah.
Although Israel was immediately suspected that he was involved in the reported years in the operation of the yearsJerusalem had not previously confirmed his role publicly.
By November 2024, however, it revealed that Israeli reports revealed comments from a cabinet meeting in which Netanyahu was quoted: “The pager operation and the elimination of (Hezbollah leader Hassan) Nasrallah were performed despite the opposition of high civil servants. who are responsible for them in the political echelon. “
President Donald Trump houses Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House in Washington, DC, February 4, 2025. (Avi Ohayon (GPO)/Handout/Anadolu via Getty images)
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The prime minister’s comments were a clear excavation with the former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, which he dismissed only a few weeks before the comments on disagreements about the war Effort against Hamas and Hezbollah.
Neither the White House nor the UN immediately responded to the requests of Fox News Digital for comment.
Yael Rotem-Kuriel has contributed to this report.
