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‘An Act of Terror’: Israel Behind Pager Explosions That Killed 11, Wounded Thousands

“Each explosion constitutes an indiscriminate attack,” argued Heidi Matthews, an associate professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University.

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, 17 Sept 24

Sep 18, 2024

Several news outlets confirmed late Tuesday what was widely suspected: Israel’s military and intelligence services were behind the explosions of pagers recently purchased by the Lebanese political party and militant group Hezbollah.

The explosions, reportedly set off earlier Tuesday by a message that appeared as if it was from Hezbollah’s leadership, killed at least 11 people—including an 8-year-old girl—and wounded thousands more.

Citing both an unnamed former Israeli official with knowledge of the operation and an anonymous U.S. official, Axiosreported that “Israeli intelligence services planned to use the booby-trapped pagers it managed to ‘plant’ in Hezbollah’s ranks as a surprise opening blow in an all-out war to try to cripple Hezbollah.”

“But in recent days, Israeli leaders became concerned that Hezbollah might discover the pagers,” the outlet continued. “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his top ministers, and the heads of the Israel Defense Forces and the intelligence agencies decided to use the system now rather than take the risk of it being detected by Hezbollah, a U.S. official said.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department publicly denied that the Biden administration was involved in the attack or aware of the operation in advance.

Heidi Matthews, an associate professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, wrote Tuesday that “each explosion constitutes an indiscriminate attack,” pointing to video footage of a pager detonating in a crowded market.

“Under these circumstances,” Matthews added, “this is an act of terror.”

The New York Timesreported Tuesday that Hezbollah ordered thousands of pagers from the Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo, but the company denied making the devices. According to the Times, which cited unnamed officials, Israeli operatives “tampered with” the devices “before they reached Lebanon,” planting in them “as little as one to two ounces” of explosive material and a switch “that could be triggered remotely to detonate the explosives.”………………………………………………………….  https://www.commondreams.org/news/hezbollah-pager-explosions

September 20, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Israel, weapons and war