"Mercenary spyware attacks, such as those using Pegasus from the NSO Group, are exceptionally rare and vastly more sophisticated than regular cybercriminal activity or consumer malware"

So, maybe even provoking an Apple warning to those targets could also be part of a sophisticated operation.

These targets react or have to react in a certain way. Instigate to lure people out of hiding and entice them to react, even if only to observe their behavior.

What do these targeted people do then? Switching phones? Accessing certain digital services, warning their network via conventional lines?

From an observer's perspective, this is pretty thrilling.