'That was a great operation': Donald Trump as Israel PM Netanyahu gifts Golden Pager at Washington meet

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented US President Donald Trump with a golden pager and a standard pager during a recent White House visit, The Jerusalem Post reported. The gift was a veiled reference to Israel’s devastating "pager attack" on Iran in September 2024 - an operation that shocked the Middle East.

Trump, in return, gifted Netanyahu a framed photograph of their meeting, inscribed with a personal note- “To Bibi, a great leader.” Upon receiving the pagers, Trump reportedly commended the Israeli operation, stating, “That was a great operation.”

Israel’s lethal pager offensive against Hezbollah

In September 2024, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon suddenly exploded, leading to mass casualties. The attack, followed a day later by a similar explosion of walkie-talkies, left at least 39 Iran-backed Hezbollah members dead and nearly 3,000 others wounded.

Two months later, Netanyahu publicly acknowledged authorizing the operation, confirming that Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad, had secretly embedded explosives inside pagers that Hezbollah operatives had unwittingly acquired months before the blasts.

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Trump’s bold Gaza plan: ‘We’ll own it’

Netanyahu’s visit to Washington wasn’t just about exchanging gifts—it was a strategic summit. He congratulated Trump on his electoral victory and reaffirmed their shared vision for reshaping the Middle East.

During a joint press conference, Trump stunned the world with his aggressive stance on Gaza, stating his intention to “take over” the region and forcibly relocate its Palestinian population. “We’ll own it … We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal … the Riviera of the Middle East,” Trump declared.

Netanyahu’s meeting with Musk: A strategic alliance?

While in the US, Netanyahu also met with billionaire entrepreneur and Trump confidant Elon Musk. The Israeli leader’s son, Yair Netanyahu, later shared an Instagram photo of the meeting, hailing Musk and his father as “geniuses.”

Musk, known for his involvement in technological and governmental oversight initiatives, is currently spearheading his DOGE program, aimed at scrutinizing government expenditures. The details of Netanyahu’s conversation with Musk remain undisclosed, but speculation is rife about the growing intersection between technology, geopolitics, and power.

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