If a state actor is behind this attack, it represents an unprecedented indiscriminate attack that killed people as they shopped, played with their children, sat in classrooms, or interact with any other person while carrying a pager. The Lebanese government and other governments from around the world are now reacting to this terrorist attack. Here is an update based on news reports from around the world.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker: What Israel did (blowing up pager communication devices) is a "war crime and its continuation of this crime will drag the region towards widespread evil" (statement)
Jordanian Foreign Minister confirms in phone call with Mikati the Kingdom’s support for Lebanon’s security, sovereignty and stability, and expresses its condemnation and rejection of any action that threatens the safety of the Lebanese (statement)
After a cyber attack that left 9 dead and thousands injured, the King of Jordan directs to provide any assistance needed by the Lebanese medical sector (statement by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry)
The sabotage of communication systems in Lebanon points to Israel's intent to escalate military operations in the Middle East, according to a statement from the Syrian Foreign Ministry.
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller: The U.S. is not involved in the pager explosions in Lebanon and was not aware of the incident beforehand.
"I can tell you that the U.S. was not involved in it, the U.S. was not aware of this incident in advance and, at this point, we're gathering information," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday.
Miller did however go on to say the U.S. supported the action to carry out Tuesday's attacks.
"So again, when I gave that answer, I said I want to be very clear that I'm not answering with specific, with any specificity regarding this incident, because we're continuing to gather facts on it," Miller replied. "But in general, yes, of course we support operations to target Hezbollah militants, who continue to launch terrorist attacks against civilians. Israel has a right to defend itself against terrorism and a right to carry out legitimate attacks against terrorists, not civilians, but terrorists. So as a general proposition, yes, of course," the U.S. State Department spokesman said.
Miller added: "We would urge Iran not to take advantage of any incident, any instability, to further increase tensions in the region."
Others in the US seem to support the attack. Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman tweeted on Twitter celebrating the bombings, saying, “I fully support efforts to target and neutralize any existential threat like Hezbollah.” AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby in the United States, retweeted the tweet, thanking the senator for his support for Israel.
The organization reminded its audience that Hezbollah is “a terrorist organization and proxy of Iran,” and noted its role in supporting the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) after October 7 of last year, arguing that “Israel is fully entitled under international law, including but not limited to Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, to exercise its right to self-defense.”
The Wall Street Journal editorial also celebrated the Israeli operation, saying that “the explosion of pagers carried by Hezbollah members across Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday was a ‘daring display of modern technological warfare. ’ It also considered it a ‘warning to Iran’s proxy Shiite militia of the human price it will pay if it continues to bombard northern Israel. ’” The conservative newspaper, known for its closeness to Israeli positions, added that “at best, this pager operation will convince Hezbollah leaders that their lives are at grave risk if a wider war breaks out, and they cannot say they did not receive a message to that effect.”
The widespread, and seemingly indiscriminate attack was triggered simultaneously when hundreds or thousands of pagers, mostly across Lebanon, but also in Syria, exploded. If the instigator was not believed to have been Israel, it would have been uniformly described as a mass series of terrorist attacks.
Other world governments condemned the attack, and some called it an act of terrorism.
Belgium has designated the mass explosion of pagers across Lebanon and Syria as a terror attack.
"Silence is not an option. An international investigation is called for. The bloodshed must end," she added.
"We consider this incident to be another act of hybrid warfare against Lebanon, which has affected thousands of innocent people," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
"We strongly condemn the unprecedented attack on friendly Lebanon and its citizens, which is a gross violation of its sovereignty and a serious challenge to international law using unconventional weapons," she added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expresses sorrow over pager explosions in Lebanon, saying Israel's attempts to spread conflicts in the region are extremely dangerous
EU's Borell: pager detonations had 'heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages among civilians'
The EU’s top diplomat has described the pager detonations in Lebanon as “extremely worrying”, and said they had caused “heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages among civilians.”
In a statement, Josep Borrell said:
Following yesterday’s series of explosions in Lebanon, I called the Lebanese foreign minister Abdallah Bou Habib. He briefed me on the explosion of a high number of electronic devices in many areas across the country. Thousands of people were injured – hundreds in critical condition – hospitals are collapsing.
Even if the attacks seem to have been targeted, they had heavy, indiscriminate collateral damages among civilians: several children are among the victims
I consider this situation extremely worrying. I can only condemn these attacks that endanger the security and stability of Lebanon, and increase the risk of escalation in the region.
The European Union calls on all stakeholders to avert an all-out war, which would have heavy consequences for the entire region and beyond.
UN high commissioner for human rights demands accountability for Lebanon pager blasts
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Wednesday that those responsible for the bombing of Hezbollah’s communications devices “must be held accountable.”
“The simultaneous targeting of thousands of people, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowing who was in possession of the targeted devices, where they were located, and the environment in which they were located at the time of the attack, constitutes a violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” he said in a statement.
Türk called for an “independent, serious and transparent investigation” into these events to find those who ordered and carried out the attacks.
He said that the bombings of the communications devices, “which killed 12 people, including two children, and injured thousands, are shocking and their effects on civilians are unacceptable, and the fear and horror they cause are profound.”
“In this volatile period, I call on all influential states in the region and beyond to take immediate action to avoid further escalation of the current conflicts,” he added, stressing that “it is time for leaders to act to save the right of everyone to live in peace and security.”
Those responsible for a deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon targeting paging devices used by members of the Hezbollah militant group “must be held to account”, the UN high commissioner for human rights said on Wednesday.
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Meanwhile, former IDF Commander Yiftach Ron-Tal: We caused a great shock to Hezbollah and great damage to its operational capabilities. This is an opportunity that must be exploited to change the reality of the war (Hebrew Channel 14)
The company placed 20 grams of PETN explosives into each device. PETN is sensitive to heat and friction, and Israel detonated it by raising the temperature of the battery to explode it.
Three types of pagers were targeted that we know of:
Motorola LX2
Teletrim
Gold Apollo Rugged Pager AR924
These pagers are still widely used among civilians in Lebanon, where cell networks are not as common for a variety of reasons.
How was this done? Reports suggest that the perpetrators placed a quantity of highly explosive PETN material on the devices' battery and it was detonated by raising the battery's temperature. The source said the amount of explosives did not exceed 20 grams.
The founder and president of Taiwanese company Gold Apollo, Hsu Ching-kuang, confirmed that the pagers that exploded in Lebanon were not manufactured by the Taiwanese company, but rather "made by a company in Europe," according to Reuters.
The company's founder explained that the devices that exploded "were manufactured by the Hungarian company BAC, which has the right to use the Taiwanese company's trademark."
Photos of the exploded devices, analyzed by Reuters, showed a design and labels consistent with devices manufactured by Gold Apollo.
The Taiwanese company stressed that BAC is the one that "produces and sells the A-R 924 model," adding that it "only grants the trademark license, and has no role in the design or manufacture of this product."
While Hsu was speaking to reporters, police officials arrived at the company.
Statement issued by Hezbollah:
After examining all the facts, current data and available information about the sinful attack that took place this afternoon, we hold the Israeli enemy fully responsible for this criminal aggression that also targeted civilians and led to the martyrdom of a number of people and the injury of a large number with various injuries.
Our martyrs and wounded are the title of our jihad and sacrifices on the road to Jerusalem, a victory for our honorable people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and continuous field support, and this position of ours in support, support and endorsement of the valiant Palestinian resistance will remain a source of pride and honor for us in this world and the hereafter.
This treacherous and criminal enemy will certainly receive its just retribution for this sinful aggression from where it expects and from where it does not expect, and God is witness to what we say.
Tuesday 9-17-2024
Yedioth Ahronoth, citing an Israeli source:
Israel avoided declaring responsibility for the explosions in Lebanon because it does not want a comprehensive war, and the Prime Minister asked the ministers to remain silent regarding the attack on Lebanon.
Other reactions:
Several social media users drew attention to the reckless and causal nature of the attack which targeted many people including civilians. A human rights lawyer on social platform X cited the International Humanitarian Law Databases of the ICRC, saying that “there was no way to know if they would be in shopping markets, homes, or streets with busy traffic,” pointing to the indiscriminate nature of the attack.
Anthropologist and researcher Philip Proudfoot cited the ICRC Geneva Conventions of 1949 section on indiscriminate attacks, and said that Israel is committing a war crime due to the indiscriminate nature of this attack with possible collateral damage.
This development takes place as news reports suggests that the ICC might issue the formal arrest warrants against Israeli leaders charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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