On Tuesday, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel’s security establishment has summoned senior officials to the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Tel Aviv for an urgent meeting. The meeting focused on the possibility of a military response by the Lebanese group Hezbollah following the detonation of wireless “Pager” devices carried by its members.
According to the newspaper, “Senior security officials were summoned to an emergency meeting with political leaders, where they were asked to propose options to handle the potential escalation of the security situation with Hezbollah in the north.”
Haaretz added, “Officials were instructed to cancel prior commitments in order to attend the urgent meeting currently taking place at the Kirya.”
In a statement released after the explosions, Hezbollah confirmed, “At approximately 3:30 PM on Tuesday, several pager devices used by personnel in various Hezbollah units and institutions exploded.”
The statement continued: “These mysterious explosions, whose causes remain unclear, resulted in the martyrdom of a child and two Hezbollah members, and injured a large number of people with varying degrees of severity.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Health Minister, Firas Abiad, announced in a later press conference that the death toll had risen to eight, including a young girl, and that 2,800 people had been injured, with 20 in critical condition. He noted that these figures are not final.
On the other hand, the head of the “Shlomi” settlement council in western Galilee, near the Lebanese border, issued a public warning on Tuesday. Following the explosion of communication devices in Lebanon, settlers were urged to remain near shelters, according to Hebrew media reports.
The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported: “Gabi Naaman, head of the Shlomi Regional Council, called on residents to stay near bomb shelters due to the sensitive security situation following the explosion of communication devices in Lebanon.”
Naaman’s statement, conveyed by the newspaper, read: “We, in the council alongside emergency teams, are prepared to handle missile and drone attacks and are on full alert.”
The Shlomi settlement is located about one kilometer from the Lebanese border.
