
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv on May 1, 2024. (Credit: Abir Sultan/AFP)
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Sunday denied allegations that Israel was involved in this week's exploding Hezbollah pager and walkie-talkie attacks — which resulted in thousands of injuries across Lebanon — for which it is widely seen as responsible.
"I reject out of hand any connection to this or that source of operation," he stated, in a morning interview with Sky News' Trevor Phillips, adding that Hezbollah has "many enemies."
The president's remarks come amid increased hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah after the latter attacked military bases in area around the northern Israeli city of Haifa on Sunday for the first time since the beginning of cross-border fighting.
On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video in which he states that Israel has dealt serious blows to Hezbollah — without mentioning specific incidents.
Thirty-nine people were killed and thousands of others wounded in the two series of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah for internal communication. Several civilians were among the victims of the explosions, which occurred in supermarkets, homes, cars, and in the streets.
Twelve current and former defense and intelligence officials who were briefed on the attack, told the New York Times that the Israelis were behind it. The NYT reported that Israel had created a shell company posing as an international pager manufacturer, using a Hungarian and a Taiwanese company as decoys.
In the Sky News interview, Herzog acknowledged the escalating violence, warning that "there is a chance of the situation escalating dramatically." He insisted that Israel's actions are defensive and necessary, accusing Hezbollah of effectively "hijacking" Lebanon.
Herzog framed Israel's military operations, which have killed over 130 civilians in Lebanon and over 41,000 people in Gaza — the majority civilians according to the Gaza Health Ministry — as a war on behalf of "the entire free world."
Hezbollah's military capabilities were also a key point in the discussion. Herzog claimed that the group is "armed to its teeth by the Iranian empire of evil" and accused Iran of not only seeking to "conquer the Middle East" but also of then intending to "move into Europe and the rest of the world."
When questioned about the possibility of Israel launching missile attacks on Iran, he affirmed that the country "has always made clear" its commitment to defend its citizens and "remove any threats that are existential to the state of Israel."