Al Mayadeen – September 19, 2024
New warfare era:
Israelis weaponize consumer goods in terror attacks
By Mohammad Al-Jaber and Ali Jezzini
The Israeli occupation indiscriminately targeted Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah members alike in a terrorist attack the likes of which have never been seen before. Any organization, military, or leadership that seeks security without foreign meddling will resort to Russia, China, or the like for more secure devices free from tampering.
Lebanon is reeling from a devastating strike that targeted various assets of its infrastructure after the Israeli occupation seemingly booby-trapped thousands of pager devices used for communication purposes be it among Hezbollah members, medical staff, or regular civilians. The attack in itself is unprecedented both in terms of the manner in which it was carried out and the demographic it targeted, as the indiscriminate nature raised eyebrows the world over.
The pagers detonated during rush on the first day of school for many. Due to the magnitude of the attack, Lebanese were left confused. Many thought there were shootings or individual altercations, others who were closer in vicinity to the explosions thought they were terrorist attacks, as the chaos that ensued was reminiscent of the bombings that had taken place in the southern suburbs of Beirut in the early 2010s. Ambulance sirens were echoing throughout Beirut and elsewhere, and due to the infamous rush hour congestion, it was incredibly difficult for EMTs to get to the wounded; the wounded had to resort to mopeds to get to hospitals for treatment.
The Israeli occupation could not have carried out the terrorist operation at a worse time, and deliberately so. The claims of the attack targeting military personnel could not be more outlandishly false. Those targeted include children, as two have died thus far, and numerous civilians. This is not to mention those who died due to ambulances being occupied with tending to the wounded to the point where they could not tend to people who needed emergency care away from the attacks, or perhaps because they could not reach them in time.
Civilians were a prime target
Every aspect of the attack was deliberate. Its indiscriminate and blanket nature is telling of the Israeli occupation’s tactics and intentions: Inflict as much loss on the enemy regardless of at what cost. There is also a more implicit issue at hand, which is to tarnish the image of Hezbollah by painting the Resistance as jeopardizing the Lebanese people as it put them in harm's way when the devices exploded. The overwhelming support the Resistance and the wounded received after the tragedy proved these efforts were met with failure.
Going back to the indiscriminate nature of the attack and how it put countless civilians in harm's way in more ways that could be fathomable. Perhaps a truck driver could have had his explode while on the highway, losing him control over the vehicle and jeopardizing civilians; a nurse helping in the delivery of a baby; a father carrying his child while resting their body on his waist and so on and so forth. When looked at from this perspective among many others, it begs the question: Does such an atrocity violate international law?
It does. The attack in of its facets, violates international law. The Amended Protocol II of the UN’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) prohibits the booby-trapping or the planting of explosives in what seems to be harmless portable objects. Even more so, and more flagrantly, the attack violates the Geneva Convention, which clearly prohibits indiscriminate attacks, and this attack, as per the aforementioned talking points, qualifies as indiscriminate.
A dangerous precedent
One key issue that seems to be glanced over throughout this debacle is how this sets an extremely dangerous precedent, as this is primarily a civilian-use electrical appliance, as aforementioned. It is used by civilians, doctors, and off-duty fighters, meaning its use for an attack of such magnitude opens the door for much worse attacks of the sorts, and we might see a future where the weaponization of dual-use consumer goods on an industrial level – again, we are talking about over devices – becomes the norm in warfare. Not to draw comparisons between the Israeli occupation and Russia, but if Moscow had infiltrated Ukraine’s supply chain and rigged thousands of devices that made their way to military personnel and trickled down to some EMTs and civilians before blowing them up while they were at home or in traffic, there would certainly be more uproar from the collective West.
While eastern “bloc” countries such as Russia, Iran, and China, and even regional Resistance movements carry out any movements or make threats out of self-preservation and self-defense, the whole world rushes to condemn them. Still, the West – be it the United States, France, the United Kingdom, or the Israeli occupation – constantly moves the goalposts to ensure that even if it violates international law, they would not be held accountable. This is especially the case for the Israeli occupation, being the highly valuable Western asset it is. Therefore, instead of being held accountable for their actions, they bend and twist international law to fit their contorted view of the world, violating any and all conventions, laws, and regulations with few to no repercussions.
The terrorist attack, which is arguably ingenious and sophisticated, is but a new spin on an old record. The civilian casualties were swept under the rug, and everyone holding the device or carrying it was accused of being a Hezbollah member. This also ignores the fact that Hezbollah operates or is behind numerous civil institutions that have nothing to do with its military side, such as the Martyr Foundation, an institute that takes care of the orphans and widows of martyrs and another institution for those wounded in combat; the al-Mahdi Schools, a “franchise” of religious schools; and the Qard al-Hassan, a microcredit, and savings institution.
With civilians being targeted and affected in such a manner, assuming that Lebanon did not have the deterrence power it has, it will be time before the country is treated like Gaza. In that case, just as the Israeli occupation bombs Mosques and Churches, schools, and hospitals under the pretext that Hamas is using them for military purposes, Lebanon’s Mosques will become Hezbollah, its Churches will become Hezbollah, its schools will become Hezbollah; its banks, refugee centers, UN organizations, NGOs, and government buildings will all become Hezbollah as “Israel” finds more ways to inflict more harm on civilians by rendering civil institutions “legitimate military targets”.
How could it all have come to be?
The attack was definitely a blow to Hezbollah, but it is unclear how such a meticulous, organized force that compares to modern armies could have let literal bombs slip through their fingers without any doubts about the possibility of the devices being laden with explosives. So how could have that happened?
Investigations point to batteries being rigged in both the pagers and the walkie-talkies that detonated the very next day. Most reports say the devices had 20 grams of the highly explosive mixture of plastic explosives such as PETN, though it is uncertain how that detectable substance could have passed through customs, especially as the shipment reportedly made it through several airports and had numerous stops before arriving in Lebanon. It is noteworthy that the attack was highly sophisticated and not foreseeable and thus it would have been greatly difficult to expect.
The fingers do still point to PETN which would have been planted in the devices during transit from the Hungarian licensees of Apollo Gold, the makers of the pagers. It would have been wired to the battery with a transceiver and meant to explode when a coded radio signal is sent, thus activating the receiver and detonating the charge. That, combined with the corrosively flammable lithium within the battery and possible shrapnel, would have caused the deadly small blasts.
However, the detectable nature of PETN forces one to shy away from it, as it can be detected through chemicals, X-rays, infrared waves, and microwaves, many of which are directly present in airports all over the world. Surely the Resistance movement has incorporated such devices in its supply chain, and though this is merely theoretical, it does, in this hypothetical, rule out PETN.
Security sources had spoken to Al Mayadeen about the terrorist attack, saying the material used in the unfathomable operation could bypass all scanning equipment available even in countries and airports around the world, saying the undetectable explosive material was “specifically designed for this mission.” The sources added that the devices had been rigged from sources via their microchips where the explosive material was contained.
What could the explosive be?
There are numerous hypotheses as to what the explosives could have been. For example, it is possible they were some plastic explosives that could not be detected because they were contained within the battery, and thus the layers of lithium would have made them undetectable, or they could have been a new yet-to-be-discovered form of plastic explosives developed specifically for such missions, which could bring about a new era of terrorist attacks, with the possibility of quite about any item being laden with explosives unbeknownst to the users.
Another valid hypothesis is that the Israeli occupation found a way to weaponize lithium and charge it, which would be entirely undetectable through scans and would be contained within the battery itself, just as the hypothesis suggesting that it was plastic explosives placed among the lithium. It is noteworthy that the explosive had to have been within the batteries, as the handheld radio receivers weigh a lot less without their batteries, and thus any alteration of the weight without the battery being in the device would be noticeable.
Lithium is highly flammable and extremely reactive, with any form of water or condensation turning it into the equivalent of a portable, miniature sun burning at around 2,000 degrees Celsius while producing explosive hydrogen gas, though it is unclear how exactly this could have been weaponized.
What is certain is that the explosives themselves were directional or contained a shaped charge, as seen in several CCTV footage showing the blasts, with the explosion itself emanating from the screen toward the user. It is also suspected that the devices contained some sort of shrapnel as concluded from numerous photos obtained by Al Mayadeen showing the martyrs and the wounded. The photos and videos showed possible pellet-shaped holes that point to the possibility of the device containing such material intended to inflict additional harm
While many aspects of the operation remain shrouded in mystery pending an investigation by Hezbollah, which Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah promised during his speech on Thursday, few things remain certain: The Israeli occupation is a terrorist regime that will cross any red lines necessary to inflict harm on its adversaries, be it with civilian casualties or not; and this operation will have a devastating toll on the supply chain of communication devices such as the ones used in the attack, with demand diminishing for devices made in Japan, whose ICOM devices exploded on Wednesday, and Taiwan and Hungary.
Any organization, military, or leadership that seeks security without foreign meddling will resort to Russia, China, or the like for more secure devices free from tampering.
Al Mayadeen – September 19, 2024
Death toll from Israeli terror attack rises to 37; 3,000 injured
Caretaker Minister of Health Firas Abiad praised the swift medical response, noting that dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses worked overnight in operating rooms, performing 955 surgeries.
Lebanese caretaker Minister of Health Firas Abiad announced on Thursday that the death toll from the telecommunication device explosions over the past two days has risen to 37, with 2,931 people injured.
In his press statements from Beirut, Abiad commented on the explosions that occurred on Tuesday and Wednesday in various regions of Lebanon as a result of booby-trapped pagers and two-way radios.
The minister reported that Wednesday's explosions alone resulted in 25 deaths and 608 injuries, 61 of which are critical. He also mentioned that the initial attack on September 17 left 12 dead and 2,323 wounded.
He praised the swift medical response, noting that dozens of doctors and hundreds of nurses worked overnight in operating rooms, performing 955 surgeries.
He further noted that the bombings showed "the cohesion of the Lebanese people in different regions in confronting the event."
The minister also acknowledged ongoing initiatives from Arab countries to provide medical assistance, though he did not specify which nations were involved.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah reported 38 of its fighters killed in the explosions and vowed retaliation against the Israeli regime, pledging a "just retribution" while continuing military operations in support of the Gaza resistance.
Al Mayadeen – September 19, 2024
Bulgaria, Hungary, Taiwan, Japan all dragged into Israeli terror plot
Bulgarian security agencies are investigating the involvement of a company suspected of supplying explosive-laden pager devices to Lebanon.
The Bulgarian State Agency for National Security (DANS) is working alongside Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior to investigate a company tied to the sales of wireless telecommunications devices (pagers) to the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah.
Earlier on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Israeli regime had set off thousands of explosive-laden non-wired communication devices including pagers and walkie-talkies across Lebanese territories. The result was a large-scale Israeli-commissioned terror attack that led to the martyrdom of 37 people and the injury of nearly 3,000 others.
DANS explained in a statement that authorities have not detected the "suspected shipments of paging devices" in Bulgarian territory.
Bulgarian media outlets reported that a Sofia-based company, under the name "Norta Global Ltd", facilitated the sale of the wireless communication devices, which were used as a tool of terror in Lebanon.
From Hungary to Japan, Israeli terror ploys threaten global security
The case has involved multiple entities in various countries so far, including Taiwan, Hungary, Bulgaria, and Japan, pointing to the complexity of the premeditated Israeli terrorist activities.
In Taiwan, where the pagers were initially suspected to have been manufactured, manufacturer Gold Apollo said the pagers were produced and developed by a European company hours after the attack.
"The pagers were both developed and produced abroad, so they have nothing to do with Taiwan," CEO Hsu Chin-Kuang said on Wednesday.
He also said that about three years ago, Gold Apollo signed a cooperation agreement with a European company, which was only involved in distributing Gold Apollo products at first, but later began independently developing the pagers involved in the blasts.
Farther east, Japanese company Icom, responsible for the manufacturing of walkie-talkie devices, said that it cannot confirm whether or not it signed off on the shipment of wireless products that blew up in Lebanon.
It also said that it had discontinued the product, the IC-V82, 10 years ago.
In a similar context, security sources told Al Mayadeen that the pager devices were rigged at the source with an integrated circuit and explosive materials that cannot be detected with "standard testing equipment."
"The available detection devices and even those [on an international scale] and in international airports could not uncover the planted explosive material due to complex techniques used in this operation," the sources explained.
Al Mayadeen – September 19, 2024
Turkiye warns against escalation risk following pagers attack
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan underlines that "Israel" is "mounting its attacks toward Lebanon step by step."
The recent deadly pager explosions in Lebanon are part of "Israel's" wider regional strategy and mark a deliberate escalation of the situation, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan cautioned on Thursday.
Lebanon's Health Minister Firass al-Abiad said 37 people were killed and 2,931 were wounded in Israeli electronic attacks that led to the explosion of hand-held devices used by Hezbollah members.
Al-Abiad said 25 people were killed on Wednesday and 12 on Tuesday, updating an earlier toll of 32 killed overall.
During an appearance at Anadolu’s Editor's Desk, Fidan explained that the explosions, which resulted in dozens of martyrs and over 3,000 injuries, are part of a situation that has been simmering for about a year.
He recalled that "Israel" initially concentrated its military efforts on the Gaza Strip, where it has killed more than 41,000 people since October 7, adding, however, that its attention now seems to be shifting toward Lebanon.
"The escalation in the region is alarming," Fidan said. "We see Israel mounting its attacks towards Lebanon step by step."
The Turkish minister referred to the recent attacks as "opportunity operations", a term from intelligence that denotes such targeted strikes.
Fidan, who previously led Turkiye’s intelligence agency, pointed out that "Israel’s" access to both technical and human intelligence on Hezbollah has played a significant role in the current situation in Lebanon, which includes the pager explosions and the escalating situation along the northern border of occupied Palestine.
While Fidan highlighted that such attacks are not entirely new, he emphasized that their scale and the impact on thousands of people have made them particularly consequential.
"This is something that intelligence organizations use very often," he said. "But this one was on a large scale."
He also mentioned extending his condolences and well-wishes to the Lebanese Prime Minister, offering Turkiye’s medical assistance to those critically injured in the attacks.
The top diplomat raised concerns about the intensifying nature of Israeli operations, warning that their increasingly provocative actions may force groups like Hezbollah and nations such as Iran to retaliate.
"We have come to a point where these operations carried out by Israel have become increasingly provocative, and in return, Iran, Hezbollah, and elements close to them have no choice but to respond," he said.
Fidan further emphasized Turkiye’s proactive measures in strengthening its cybersecurity defenses, with plans to potentially establish a new cybersecurity agency.
He highlighted the broader risks of escalation, suggesting that the situation could evolve from a "regional conflict" into a near-global crisis.
Anadolu Agency – September 18, 2024
Russia says Hezbollah pager explosions were designed to ‘provoke a major war’
Russia on Wednesday strongly condemned multiple explosions of electronic pagers in Lebanon that killed at least nine people and wounded many others, branding them “another act of hybrid warfare.”
“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.
On Tuesday, nine people died and hundreds were injured in Lebanon’s capital Beirut and other areas in the country after wireless communication devices, known as pagers, exploded. The Lebanese government accused Israel of being behind the incident.
Zakharova said the organizers of the attack were “deliberately seeking to incite a large-scale armed confrontation, seeking to provoke a major war in the Middle East.”
She further said such “irresponsible actions” are “fraught with extremely dangerous consequences” as they further escalate tensions in the Israeli-Lebanese border area.
Zakharova went on to say that a comprehensive investigation is necessary to bring all those to justice “so that another act of terrorism is not swept under the carpet, as Western countries are trying to do with the investigation of the explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipeline,” referring to 2022 incidents involving pipelines between Russia and Europe.
Russia calls on all parties involved to exercise restraint and refrain from steps that threaten to further destabilize the military-political situation in the Middle East, she added.
Escalation
Later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov underlined that a thorough investigation must be conducted regarding the incident to uncover the circumstances.
He told reporters in a press briefing in Moscow that the investigation must also uncover those who are behind the pager explosions.
"After that, of course, this must become a subject of study by specialists in order to take measures to eliminate similar risks here (in Russia) and in other places," he went on to say.
He also said that the incident "certainly leads to an escalation of tensions," going on to define the region itself to be in an "explosive state."
"Such incidents, each of them, can become a trigger for the situation to get out of control," he added.
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