Israel Terrorizes Lebanon

This was a reckless attack that makes a major war between Israel and Hezbollah much more likely.

Israel carried out a major terrorist attack across Lebanon yesterday:

A source described the attack as a "huge operation" that took between six and 12 months to plan, involving the use of informants and collaborators. Explosives were implanted inside the beepers, the source added.

The attack killed at least 12 civilians -- among them an 8-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy -- according to Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad.

At least 2,800 people were injured, Abiad said. More than 460 people underwent surgery for serious injuries, the minister added. Most victims are suffering from eye and facial injuries, while others suffered injuries to hands and fingers, he said.

This was a reckless attack that makes a major war between Israel and Hezbollah much more likely. Of course, escalation is what the Netanyahu government has been aiming for all year, and this time they may get their wish. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for the attack. If it seems unclear what the Israeli government was trying to achieve with this attack, perhaps that is because their government has no strategy to speak of beyond setting things on fire. Perhaps this was intended as a prelude to an Israeli invasion of Lebanon, but that is no defense when an invasion of Lebanon would be a disaster for all concerned. This is the last thing that the Israeli government should have done if it really wanted an end to conflict in the north.

The reaction throughout Lebanon was understandably one of anger and fear:

In Lebanon, the attack was seen as a broad and terrifying assault on the country and was widely condemned, including by Hezbollah’s critics. Casualties were reported in Beirut, the capital; towns in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel; in the coastal city of Tyre; and in the northern part of the country.

The shock of the pager detonations — in the middle of the afternoon, shortly after schools were let out — was likened to the aftermath of a deadly port explosion in 2020 that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands.

Marc Lynch commented on the attack last night:

Israel’s attack on Hezbollah phones was technically brilliant, sure. It was also absolutely guaranteed that phones would explode in densely packed civilian areas. Markets, malls, taxis, buses. Just look at footage from hospitals. In any other context we’d call that terrorism and it is here too.

If it were almost any other government that did this, the coverage would not be talking about how technically impressive the attack was. It would be focused on the carnage and mayhem inflicted on an unwitting population. The pagers were tampered with before they entered Lebanon, so there would have been no way for the Israeli government to know who was in possession of the devices when they detonated the explosives that had been placed inside them. There also would have been no way for them to know who else would be near these devices when they exploded. Some of the people carrying these devices had nothing to do with Hezbollah at all. At least four medical staff were killed by this attack because they happened to be using the same kind of pager.

The Biden administration claims that our government had no knowledge or involvement in the attack. That may be true, but the administration still shares in the blame for Netanyahu’s recklessness because they refuse to do anything to rein him in. The administration has provided unconditional backing to the Israeli government no matter what they have done over the last eleven months, and that has encouraged Netanyahu to believe that he can get away with absolutely anything.