Focus on the BIG picture.
Friday, Feb 07, 2025
Outside the box.
Netanyahu Presents Trump with Golden Pager Referencing Covert Operation Against Hezbollah
During a recent White House meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted U.S. President Donald Trump a gold-plated pager and a standard pager as mementos of an explosive operation targeting Hezbollah communication devices in Lebanon and Syria.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented U.S. President Donald Trump with two pagers – one of which was gold-plated – during their meeting at the White House on Tuesday.
The gift was described by Israeli media as a symbolic reference to a covert operation carried out in mid-September 2024. According to multiple reports, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives detonated across locations in Lebanon and parts of Syria on September 17, followed by a second wave of explosions of booby-trapped walkie-talkies the next day.
These coordinated attacks reportedly resulted in at least 39 fatalities and injured more than 3,400 people, with victims sustaining injuries such as eye trauma, lost digits, and abdominal wounds.
The operation—widely attributed to Israeli intelligence—was reportedly designed to target Hezbollah’s communication network and to send a strong strategic message during ongoing regional tensions.
In response to the reference, President Trump was quoted as describing the operation as “a great operation.” In a reciprocal gesture, Trump presented Netanyahu with a signed photograph of their meeting bearing the inscription, “To Bibi, a great leader.” Israeli officials have noted that despite internal disagreements among senior defense and intelligence circles, the operation had been approved by Netanyahu as part of a broader security strategy.
Further details reported in international news outlets indicate that the explosive modifications were incorporated into pagers reportedly obtained through a licensing arrangement involving the Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo and intermediary companies based in Europe.
The exchange of gifts and the acknowledgment of the operation underscore the close diplomatic ties between the United States and Israel, while also highlighting the continued emphasis on unconventional security measures in the region.
The incident forms part of a series of high-profile military actions in recent months amid an ongoing conflict involving Hezbollah and other regional actors.
The gift was described by Israeli media as a symbolic reference to a covert operation carried out in mid-September 2024. According to multiple reports, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives detonated across locations in Lebanon and parts of Syria on September 17, followed by a second wave of explosions of booby-trapped walkie-talkies the next day.
These coordinated attacks reportedly resulted in at least 39 fatalities and injured more than 3,400 people, with victims sustaining injuries such as eye trauma, lost digits, and abdominal wounds.
The operation—widely attributed to Israeli intelligence—was reportedly designed to target Hezbollah’s communication network and to send a strong strategic message during ongoing regional tensions.
In response to the reference, President Trump was quoted as describing the operation as “a great operation.” In a reciprocal gesture, Trump presented Netanyahu with a signed photograph of their meeting bearing the inscription, “To Bibi, a great leader.” Israeli officials have noted that despite internal disagreements among senior defense and intelligence circles, the operation had been approved by Netanyahu as part of a broader security strategy.
Further details reported in international news outlets indicate that the explosive modifications were incorporated into pagers reportedly obtained through a licensing arrangement involving the Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo and intermediary companies based in Europe.
The exchange of gifts and the acknowledgment of the operation underscore the close diplomatic ties between the United States and Israel, while also highlighting the continued emphasis on unconventional security measures in the region.
The incident forms part of a series of high-profile military actions in recent months amid an ongoing conflict involving Hezbollah and other regional actors.
