Editorial: Hezbollah Attack Is A High-Tech Escalation

Though Israel has not yet admitted responsibility for the pager and walkie-talkie explosions in Lebanon, everyone believes it was the handiwork of its intelligence agency, Mossad. This marks the first time such a form of warfare has been attempted anywhere in the world. The victims of the explosions—26 killed and hundreds injured, some seriously—are believed to be operatives of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Shia organisation in Lebanon. The Hezbollah leadership suspected that the mobile phones used by its cadres were compromised, which is why they advised their supporters to stop using mobiles and rely more on pagers, which only receive messages, reducing the chances of Israeli sabotage.

Little did the Hezbollah commanders know that the pagers and walkie-talkies their operatives were using contained small amounts of explosives that could be remotely detonated. On the first day, thousands of pagers used by their cadres simultaneously detonated, killing at least 14 people and injuring hundreds. The next day, walkie-talkies began to explode in homes and offices, killing 12 and injuring hundreds more. Since the devices used in Lebanon were outsourced from another country and not manufactured, as believed, in Taiwan, it became easier for Mossad to organise the sabotage. There is no denying that Hezbollah had been firing missiles at Israel for a long time. This escalated on October 8, when the Shia group heavily bombarded northern Israel, following the lead of Hamas which had fired missiles at Israel the previous day. These attacks are believed to have provoked Israel into triggering the explosions, indicating that its arsenal includes not only traditional weapons but also high-tech ones.

The blasts have completely paralysed Hezbollah’s communication system, and restoring it to its original state is easier said than done. While both sides have issued empty threats, few believe that either Israel or Hezbollah wishes to escalate the conflict further. However, this suggests that the war of attrition will continue indefinitely. Sabotage, whether carried out by a state agency like Mossad or an organisation like Hezbollah, cannot be justified under any circumstances. Most of the victims were civilians, as evidenced by the fact that a pager explosion occurred during a funeral. The war has benefited no side, except for killing or maiming many. The international community must intervene and pressure both sides to cease their bombardment. It’s also time the United Nations and its agencies intervened to stop the senseless killing of people in a war no side can win.