The thousands of pagers which exploded all over Lebanon could have only been caused by Israel, and may well be the signal of an impending Israeli attack, after Hezbollah’s recent escalation of violence with Israel, following the latter’s attack on Gaza after the October 7 attacks by Hamas. The purpose of the attack is clearly aimed at Hezbollah’s communication ability, thus degrading its ability to respond to any Israeli attack. Hezbollah had recently abandoned mobile phones, the previous staple for internal communication, because it believed they were being tapped by Israeli intelligence, which had led to the location and killing of a number of Hezbollah commanders.
Therefore, the number of those killed, initially nine and expected to go up, because some of 2800 injured are critical, does not really matter. What does matter is that the medical facilities of the small country are already stretched thin, and may well be driven to breaking point by any Israeli attack, which will not only cause military casualties which will be the responsibility of the Hezbollah structure, but also many civilian casualties who will turn to the already overburdened healthcare network. The Israeli action indicates a kind of Israeli desperation, for it would create not just a second but a third front for the Israeli forces, which are engaged in not just Gaza, but also the West Bank. However, this multiplication of conflict is good for the Netanyahu government, which needs the unifying factor of a war to remain in office.
Perhaps one of the most dangerous aspects of this operation, which is irresistibly reminiscent of ‘Q’, the James Bond character who headed the Secret Service’s development of secret technologies, is that it could lead to the spreading of the war. Ever since October 7, Hezbollah fighters and Israeli soldiers have been trading fire, with hundreds being killed. Hezbollah is a strong ally of Iran, to the extent that some regard it as a mere proxy. While Itan has avoided involvement in the conflict, Israel seems bent on provoking it, It has attacked its mission in Damascus, and assassinated the Hamas leader on Iranian soil. Israel has been exploiting the mindless backing of the West in its criminal enterprises, The USA has already indicated that it will not stop Israeli escalation. In short, it will overlook this piece of Israeli bad behaviour and go along with whatever trumped-story it will use to ruin the peace of the world.
