Did Israeli PM Netanyahu Celebrate Pager Blasts? Video Goes Viral As 9 Die In Lebanon

New Delhi: A video of Israeli Prime Minister is going viral on social media with claims that he celebrated the pager attacks in Lebanon which claimed nine lives and left thousands injured. The video was shared by several accounts on social media, hours after Hezbollah blamed Israel for the attack.Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attack and has claimed that this is the "biggest security breach" it has faced yet. All the pagers exploded nearly the same time, the Hezbollah has claimed, saying that this is an "Israeli breach" of its communications network."Dozens of Hezbollah members have been wounded in the south and in Beirut's southern suburbs after their pagers exploded," a source close to Hezbollah told news agency AFP, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.Amid the sensational allegations, the video of Netanyahu has left social media users enraged. But what's the truth?

#Netanyahu celebrating the attack on #Lebanon pic.twitter.com/zEdZ3fbkOU

— Arthur Morgan (@ArthurM40330824) September 17, 2024

Did Netanyahu Celebrate Pager Attack?An X user shared the video with the caption, "#Netanyahu celebrating the attack on #Lebanon". A verified X account 'Brian’s Breaking News and Intel' also shared the same video and claimed, "Netanyahu celebrating the mass casualties of Lebanese civilians by singing and whistling."Another post read, "The circulating rumor is that this is #Netanyahu's reaction after the pager event This society from it's Telegram users to it's leadership is sadistic and deranged."

⚡️The circulating rumor is that this is #Netanyahu's reaction after the pager event

This society from it's Telegram users to it's leadership is sadistic and deranged. pic.twitter.com/17o5vhAqDJ

— محمّد محفوظ عالم (@md_mehfuzalam) September 17, 2024

The video is three-years-old and a keyword search for “Netanyahu,” and “whistling” in Hebrew on YouTube yielded a post by @teslamanrotternet2319, dated March 11, 2021. Carrying the same video of the Israeli PM, it stated, “Netanyahu whistles ‘Likud is in the heart’ (translated from Hebrew via Google)”There are multiple Facebook posts from March 2021 featuring the viral footage showing Netanyahu whistling and singing in the car.

Israeli website ‘kikar.co.il’ also featured the video in a report published on March 11, 2021. “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 71 years old, is ploughing the country from north to south in preparation for the elections, and he is using the long roads to hold talks with his supporters. Last night Netanyahu was filmed whistling the Likud national anthem,” it stated. Furthermore, the video was also shared on Netanyahu’s official TikTok account in March, 2021.

Hezbollah Blames IsraelHezbollah put out a statement shortly after the pager explosions saying that at "Around 3:30 pm (local time) on Tuesday, several pager devices used by Hezbollah members and officials of various institutions exploded.""Israel is fully responsible for the pager blasts," Hezbollah said. The statement further read, "A girl and her two brothers" were killed in the incident, while many others were injured. The statement urged people to be "cautious of rumors and misinformation spread by certain parties, as this may serve the psychological warfare" by Israel."The relevant authorities in Hezbollah are currently conducting extensive security and scientific investigations to find the reasons for these simultaneous explosions," it added.Since the Gaza war began in October, Hezbollah and Israel have repeatedly exchanged strikes, resulting in casualties among both civilians and combatants in Lebanon and Israel.