Lebanon’s hospitals were overwhelmed as Hezbollah, an armed group, suffered casualties from detonated pagers. Israel-attributed terror attacks in Lebanon triggered a devastating chain of events. Thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, causing the deaths of at least 32 people and injuring over 3100.
The use of pagers and walkie-talkies in these coordinated attacks has raised concerns about the security of global supply chains. The incidents highlight the potential for governments or other malicious actors to tamper with electronic devices, leading to tragic consequences.
The utilization of thousands of electronic devices in the apparent attacks, which are widely believed to have been orchestrated by Israel as part of an operation targeting Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah, has raised the specter of everyday communications equipment being weaponized in the future.
The hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, around the same time that the pagers were bought, said a security source. Israel’s Mossad spy agency planted explosives inside 5,000 pagers imported by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday’s detonations, a senior Lebanese security source, and another source told Reuters.
The operation was a significant security breach for Hezbollah, resulting in the detonation of thousands of pagers across Lebanon. The pagers were allegedly from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, but the company denied manufacturing them. They claimed the devices were made by BAC, a company with a Gold Apollo license, but provided no further information.
Iran-backed Hezbollah has threatened to respond against Israel, whose military has declined to comment on the bombings. Hezbollah issued a press release on Wednesday stating that
“The resistance will continue today, like any other day, its operations to support Gaza, its people, and its resistance which is a separate path from the harsh punishment that the criminal enemy (Israel) should await in response to Tuesday’s massacre”.
Addressing a weekly briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, calling upon the international community to take urgent steps to hold Israel to account on its acts of “international terrorism and violations of international law.”
Pakistan condemned the bombings, saying “Terror attacks are a manifestation of Israel’s alarming adventurism in the region, which has endangered regional peace and security. Israel is responsible for the use of cyber and electronic means to commit terrorism in foreign countries”
Israel has not responded to the bombings, but it has been widely implicated, particularly in the Middle East. Unconfirmed reports say the devices had explosives implanted inside them. The plot appears to have been many months in the making.
The blasts came amid mounting border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Tel Aviv’s deadly onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7.
Amid escalating violence, Pakistan continues to express its steadfast support for Palestine, standing firmly against the injustices faced by the Palestinian people.
Similar to the condemnation of prohibited phosphorus shelling in Palestine, the use of cyber and electronic means for terrorism in other countries is equally reprehensible and demands the urgent attention of world leaders.
Pakistan also strongly condemned the September 12 Israeli air strikes on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza, which killed 18 people, including six United Nations staffers. “The horrifying massacre — that also included deaths of staff — is yet another crime committed by Israel in Gaza since October last year,” Baloch said.
“These ongoing attacks on civilian targets including refugee camps also go against the spirit of ICJs provisional measures, which call for the provision of essential services and humanitarian assistance to address the challenges faced by the Palestinians in Gaza.”
Pakistan demanded the world fully embrace the ICJ’s ruling, which condemned Israel’s illegal control of Palestinian lands. They stressed the international community’s duty to support Palestinian self-determination. This included an immediate, unconditional ceasefire to ease the immense suffering in Gaza.
Lebanon’s recent terror attacks, causing immense suffering, highlight Israel’s reckless actions destabilizing the region. With Gaza’s ongoing genocide and Lebanon’s terror, the West’s silence on Israel’s atrocities and international law violations is a glaring hypocrisy. World leaders must break their slumber, demanding an immediate end to Israel-fueled terror and upholding universal justice and human rights.
