'That was a great operation', says Trump as Netanyahu gifts golden pager during US visit

President Trump meets with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House on February 4, 2025. (Image: AP)

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted US President Donald Trump a golden pager and a standard pager during his US visit on Tuesday.

The plaque of the golden pager read, “To President Donald J. Trump, our greatest friend and greatest ally. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.” Meanwhile, the pager read, “PRESS WITH BOTH HANDS”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gifted a Golden Pager featuring a Plaque, to U.S. President Donald J. Trump during his recent Visit to the White House, with the Pager reading, PRESS WITH BOTH HANDS while the Plaque read, To President Donald J. Trump, our greatest pic.twitter.com/Ra6Ov6xHzC

OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) February 6, 2025

The shiny gift - as well as the regular beeper - was a reference to Israel's deadly pager attack on Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon earlier in September 2024, The Jerusalem Post reported.

“That was a great operation," Trump said while expressing gratitude at their meeting in White House.

As a return gift, the newly-elected US President gave Netanyahu a photo of the two of the leaders from the visit, with the title "To Bibi, a great leader".

Lebanon pager attack

In September last year, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon exploded, killing and injuring dozens. A day later, hundreds of walkie-talkies also blew up, killing and injuring scores more.

About two months later, Netanyahu confirmed that he greenlighted the pager operation in Lebanon. It was revealed that Israel's Mossad intelligence agency planted explosives inside pagers ordered by Hezbollah months before the blasts on September 17 and 18. At least 39 Iran-backed Hezbollah members were killed and nearly 3,000 others injured.