Israel unleashed their strategy to detonate pagers used by Hezbollah members due to concerns that the plot might soon be uncovered by the Iran-supported terror group, according to three US officials speaking with Axios.
“It was a use it or lose it moment,” a US official stated to explain Israel’s decision to execute the attack yesterday.
Although Israel has been identified as responsible for the large-scale, coordinated assault, there has been no official response from Jerusalem.
An ex-Israeli official informed Axios that the plan was initially to deploy the exploding pagers as the first move in a full-scale conflict with the terror group. However, recent fears arose that the devices might be discovered before they could be used.
Axios reports that Al Monitor indicated two Hezbollah members had recently expressed worries about the pagers.
According to Axios, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant informed the US just moments before the attack that an operation was imminent, though he did not provide specifics.
Yesterday afternoon, at least nine individuals lost their lives, and thousands sustained injuries as pagers carried by Hezbollah members across Lebanon detonated.
The unprecedented series of explosions, which also reportedly resulted in casualties in Syria and injuries to the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, created turmoil in a region already bracing for potential large-scale conflict.

{Matzav.com}