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ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER Benjamin Netanyahu gifted Donald Trump a golden pager during their meeting at the White House this week, an apparent nod to Israel’s deadly attack against Hezbollah in Lebanon last year which killed children and healthcare workers.
Trump reportedly received the gift from Netanyahu on Tuesday, the same day that he claimed the US plans to “take over Gaza”.
The golden pager displayed text that read “Press with both hands”, and was given to Trump on a trophy-style display with a placard saying: “To President Donald J. Trump, our greatest friend and greatest ally. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
We have a real photo of the golden beeper, courtesy of Netanyahu’s office! pic.twitter.com/GRqp4KdK40
— Lahav Harkov 🎗️ (@LahavHarkov) February 6, 2025
As he accepted the gift, Trump remarked that “that was a major operation,” an unidentified Israeli official told reporters.
Israeli media reported that Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, also gifted Trump a regular pager.
The gift symbolises a deadly operation Israel carried out against the Lebanese group using exploding pagers in September 2024, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
“This strategic operation showcases Israel’s strength, technological superiority, and ingenuity against its enemies,” it said yesterday.
Over the 17 and 18 September last year, thousands of handheld pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies intended for use by Hezbollah exploded simultaneously in two separate events across Lebanon and Syria, in an Israeli attack nicknamed ‘Operation Grim Beeper’.
The attack killed at least 42 people, including at least 12 civilians, and injured around 4,000 civilians, according to the Lebanese government.
Victims of the explosions were left with a range of injuries, including losing fingers, hands, and eyes, as well as brain shrapnel.
Israel launched an invasion of Lebanon 10 days after the explosions, beginning with airstrikes across the southern regions of the country.
The Lebanese government has reported that since October 2024, Israeli forces had killed 2,720 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians.
In exchange for the golden pager, Trump gifted the Israeli Prime Minister a signed photo of the two leaders.
On the photograph, Trump wrote: “To Bibi, a great leader!”
Additional reporting from AFP
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