Elizabeth Samson
Middle East Forum, Sept. 19, 2024
“Putting aside the double standards held by the international community and the reflexive critique of Israel’s actions without acquisition of facts, and accepting that humanitarian law prohibits the intentional targeting of civilians during armed conflict, Israel’s operation nevertheless complied with international law.”
Many analysts heralded this week’s synchronized explosions across parts of Lebanon of pagers, walkie-talkies, and solar equipment as operational genius in Israel’s war against Hezbollah. After all, the attack was extraordinarily precise, disrupted internal communications, and hemorrhaged the terror group’s morale. Many in the United Nations, human rights workers, European diplomats, and progressive politicians disagreed, and condemned Israel for allegedly violating international law.
The Israeli attack on Hezbollah did not come out of nowhere. Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, Hezbollah began launching missiles and drones into Israel, leading tens of thousands of Israeli civilians to flee their homes and forcing the Israel Defense Forces to stretch its resources.
Hezbollah had previously ceased using cell phones because of concerns about cybersecurity, forcing a switch to pagers as a seemingly safer and low-tech alternative. Israeli intelligence apparently infiltrated the supply chain, rigging the devices to set off simultaneous detonations upon receipt of a specific signal.… [To read the full article, click here]