Security officials on Wednesday said that "The strategic purpose was deterrence" - referring to the pager operation in Lebanon, resulting in thousands of wounded Hezbollah operatives, which is attributed to Israel. According to a source, "Never, and in any country, have so many terrorists been hit in one minute. This is about 4,000 targeted assassinations. If we wanted to kill them, we could, but deterrence is stronger."
According to the sources, "this is not the last move and there will be more." and, in fact, on Wednesday afternoon, over 100 people were injured when walkie talkies exploded across Lebanon.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pressed for offensive operations in the north, and a security source has said he did so despite opposition from the IDF and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's reservations. On Saturday night, Netanyahu convened an emergency discussion due to operational circumstances. Foreign sources reported that Hezbollah began to suspect the beepers and therefore there was an urgent need for execution. The Prime Minister's Office denied reports concerning the recent discussions.
At the same time, the IDF instructed the Mateh Asher Regional Council to postpone popular Israeli sinter Hanan Ben Ari's concert that was scheduled for Thursday at Kibbutz Lohamei HaGeta'ot's amphitheater with an audience of 4,300 people. Following the escalation, President Isaac Herzog hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu for an unusual briefing.
Following the pager blasts in Lebanon, the IDF is on high alert. The 98th Division, considered one of the elite IDF units which includes the commando and the paratrooper unit, left the Gaza Strip and went up to the northern border. Their shift may hint at the expansion of war against Hezbollah.
Moving the 98th Division to the north and leaving the 162nd Division and the 252nd Division proved that the IDF is shifting its focus from Gaza to Lebanon. Since Tuesday, the Chief of Staff has been conducting a continuous situation assessment concerning what is happening in the north, and so far the IDF has not issued new guidelines.
Lebanese residents were shocked by the explosions of the pagers. AFP quoted a man from Dahiyeh in Beirut who said he has never seen a person walking down the street and explode. A Lebanese engineer who lives in the U.S. and is visiting Beirut, said he was not surprised by what happened because "wars are dirty." He added that the war of attrition between Israel and Hezbollah would take time. Abu Jawad Hamda, a resident of Beirut, promised that there would be a response from Hezbollah. "We will respond, we need to teach them a lesson they won't forget because these people won't stop," he said.
Meanwhile, new details regarding the operation are beginning to surface. A Taiwanese company allegedly sold thousands of pagers to the terror organization but deny making any adjustments to the product. The Taiwanese company said that the AR-924 type device is manufactured and sold by a Hungary-based company called BAC.
BAC in Hungary
(Video: Reuters)
The president of the Taiwanese company, "Gold Apollo," noted that there were problems with the company's payments in the past. He said they came through the Middle East. Taiwan's Economy Minister said the pager manufacturer claimed they must have undergone "adjustments" after they were shipped.