Israel’s Terrifying Act: Pager Bombings Claim 11 Lives, Injure Thousands

Late on Tuesday, multiple media sources confirmed the long-held suspicion that the Israeli military and intelligence community orchestrated the recent pager explosions. The targeted pagers were recently bought by Hezbollah, a political party and militant group based in Lebanon.

Earlier that day, it was reported that the explosions, triggered by a message seemingly from Hezbollah’s leadership, claimed the lives of at least 11 individuals, including an 8-year-old child, and left thousands injured.

According to Axios, an anonymous former Israeli official knowledgeable of the operation and an unnamed U.S. official revealed that “Israeli intelligence agencies had planned to use these rigged pagers, which they had managed to infiltrate into Hezbollah’s forces, as a surprise initial attack in an all-out war aimed at incapacitating Hezbollah.”

The same report further expounded that Israeli leaders had recently grown fearful that Hezbollah might discover the pagers. As a result, the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, along with his top ministers, and the heads of the Israel Defense Forces and intelligence agencies, decided to utilize the system immediately instead of risking its detection by Hezbollah, as per a U.S. official.

The U.S. State Department’s spokesperson denied any involvement or prior knowledge of the operation by the Biden administration.

Heidi Matthews, an associate professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, commented on Tuesday that “each explosion signifies an indiscriminate attack,” referring to a video clip showing a pager exploding in a busy market.

Matthews further stated that, “Under these conditions, this is an act of terror.”

The New York Timesreported on Tuesday that Hezbollah had ordered thousands of pagers from the Taiwanese manufacturer Gold Apollo. However, the company denied manufacturing these devices. The Times, citing anonymous officials, revealed that Israeli operatives had tampered with the devices before they reached Lebanon, implanting a tiny amount of explosive material and a remotely activated switch to trigger the explosives.

Adding to the fears of a wider conflict, Hezbollah pledged to retaliate against Israel for the attack, which reportedly also injured Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon along with Hezbollah fighters and medical personnel.

The Guardian‘s Andrew Roth noted on Tuesday that just “a day before the coordinated sabotage, Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, was in Israel urging Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials to avoid escalating the situation in Lebanon.”

In recent weeks, Netanyahu repeatedly undermined cease-fire talks by imposing hardline demands as the Israeli military, heavily armed by the U.S., continues its assault on the Gaza Strip.

Roth wrote on Tuesday, “U.S. officials have asserted that the foundation for peace along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon would come through a cease-fire in Gaza. However, reaching such an agreement has proven difficult and seems no closer to reality.” He added that the White House had hoped that a period of calm around Israel would allow cease-fire negotiators to make progress as intermediaries negotiated complex demands from both Hamas and Israel regarding a hostage exchange and territorial claims.

Roth concluded, “With this daring act of deception, that period of calm has now been shattered and Hezbollah has promised to retaliate.”