The Israeli President appeared to deny his country’s involvement in the explosion of thousands of wireless communication devices used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon, which resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog stated that he “completely rejects any connection” to the attacks on Hezbollah last week and affirmed that Israel has “a legitimate right” to defend itself, according to British news agency PA Media.
The conflict, which is linked to the ongoing war in Gaza, escalated last week when thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded on Tuesday and Wednesday. Although Israel is widely believed to be responsible for the attack, it has neither confirmed nor denied involvement. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel for the series of explosions that killed at least 37 people, including two children, and injured around 3,000 others.
In an interview with Sky News, Herzog said, “First of all, I completely reject any connection of Israel to the attacks, or the source of those attacks.” When asked whether Israel denies responsibility for the recent explosions or if another party was responsible, he replied, “I’m not implying anything other than saying that Hezbollah has many enemies, and there are quite a few these days.”
Herzog also said, “Hezbollah is suffocating and destroying Lebanon, creating havoc time and again. We are simply defending ourselves, which is all we are doing. We’ve made it clear that we must take action, just like any normal country would, as Britain or any other sovereign nation would do to defend its people.”
Meanwhile, Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, stated that the region’s populations are “definitely expecting the worst” and that “no one anticipates de-escalation” due to the international community’s failure, as reported by the German news agency DPA.
Zomlot described the Israeli president as “more of a security spokesperson than a president” and questioned whether he is seeking a solution while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “rejects all offers” for a ceasefire.
Speaking to Sky News, Zomlot said, “I think it is now well-documented that the Israeli government not only changed the rules of the game when it came to ceasefire negotiations, but they completely changed the playing field.” He added, “So, everyone is affected, disrupted, worried, and bleeding, and everyone is bracing for the worst… unfortunately.”
