Israeli authorities decided to detonate thousands of Hezbollah pagers early Tuesday morning over fears the terrorist group might have discovered their plot, according to several reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his top officials reportedly gave the green light to the coordinated attack sooner rather than later when intelligence reports in recent days suggested that Hezbollah might have detected the explosives allegedly placed inside their pagers. Sources told the news site Axios and Al-Monitor.
Additional sources said the decision to launch Wednesday's follow-up attack, which blew up thousands of Hezbollah walkie-talkie radios, was also accelerated by concerns that terrorists would abandon the devices following Tuesday's surprise attack, according to Axios.
The explosive devices killed at least 26 people, including at least two children, and left more than 3,200 injured, according to Lebanon's health ministry.
The AR-924 pagers involved in the first wave of attacks were reportedly seized by Israel before being imported into Lebanon. The New York Times reportedciting U.S. and other officials briefed on the operation.
The Jewish state is said to have planted explosive material next to the battery, with a switch that could be activated remotely to detonate it.
Hezbollah turned to the pagers after the terror group's leaders warned its operatives to throw away their mobile phones earlier this year for fear that Israel had hacked into Lebanese cellular networks and could also use the devices for targeted attacks.
The booby-trapped pagers were then detonated, sending a message impersonating the group's leaders, officials told The Times.
The walkie-talkies that detonated Wednesday morning were ordered by the terrorist group about five months ago, around the same time as the deadly pagers.
Although Israel has refused to comment on the attack on Hezbollah's communications system, the terrorist group and the Lebanese government have placed the blame squarely on the Jewish state.
Hashim Safi Al Din, a senior Hezbollah official and relative of terror chief Hassan Nasrallah, warned that the group would launch a deadly retaliatory attack against Israel.
“These attacks will be punished in a unique way, there will be a unique and bloody revenge,” he said in a statement.
Hamas joined in the condemnation, saying attacks against its Iran-backed ally terror group “now threaten the security and stability of the region.”
