John Fetterman is happy about pager and walkie attacks on Hezbollah: “I love it”

Senator John Fetterman said he more than supports – he “loves” – an alleged Israeli attack that sent pagers and walkie-talkies exploding across Lebanon last week, killing dozens of people and injuring thousands.

“I thought I absolutely supported Israel's decision to blow up the pagers and then the walkie-talkies and then to target and eliminate the members and leadership of Hezbollah. In fact, I think it's great,” Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press.

More: Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon escalate into the largest attack since October 7

Fetterman's comments came after Senator Bernie Sanders accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of sabotaging ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas.

“Every time a deal seems close, Netanyahu moves the goalposts, makes new demands and torpedoes the deal,” Sanders said on the Senate floor in a video clip played to Fetterman. “It's clear to me that Netanyahu is prolonging the war to stay in power.”

Fetterman said he disagreed with Sanders, adding that with the pager attack, Israel had “demonstrated that it will not allow terrorists to escape accountability, and I fully support that.”

Fetterman has expressed his unconditional support for Israel since the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last October.

His stance has drawn the ire of left-leaning Democrats who accused him of making a sharp turn to the right from his down-to-earth progressive stance in the run-up to his election victory in Pennsylvania.

Fetterman then distanced himself from his reputation as a “progressive”. A few months ago he traveled to Israel and met with Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians.

Attacks with pagers and walkie-talkies escalate the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah

The pager and walkie-talkie attacks left 37 people dead and over 2,700 injured when thousands of the devices exploded across the country over two days. Some people had their fingers torn off and others lost their eyes. Among the victims were an 8-year-old girl and the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon.

Following the explosions, Beirut International Airport banned both types of devices on flights. Iran's Revolutionary Guard also stopped using all communications devices, Reuters reported on Monday.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the attack, but reports suggest that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad placed small amounts of explosives in the bombs.

Hezbollah announced that it would “justly punish” Israel for the attack. Representatives of the militant group described the attack as one of the worst security violations of the past year.

The explosions heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, which has carried out regular attacks across the border since the Israel-Hamas war last October that killed 1,200 Israelis and 40,000 Palestinians.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said another 100 people were killed on Monday in the most devastating Israeli air strikes in Lebanon in at least a year. Areas across the country, from the southern border to the northern regions near Syria, were hit. Hezbollah said it fired several dozen rockets toward northern Israel.

It was the last Israeli airstrike on Lebanon in several days, and hundreds of Hezbollah rockets were fired across the border. Israel attacked nearly 300 targets over the weekend, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

“If Hezbollah has not understood the message, I promise you, they will understand the message,” he said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Fetterman says he's excited about Israel's pager and walkie-talkie attack