As Lebanon is still in a state of shock from Tuesday’s pager-blasts attack and reports are revealing new aspects of the incident, Israel might face new charges for violating international law.
The role of Israeli private companies in the pager attacks
A report from the Washington Post suggests that private Israeli companies might be behind the pager attacks at the behest of the Israeli government. There are many of these companies in Israel that produce and sell sophisticated cyber security and surveillance software to the Israeli military.
A 2021 investigation by 16 media groups from in and out of Israel found that the Israeli company NSO Group had sold military-grade spyware to other governments to be used to hack cell phones used by journalists, politicians and activists opposing those governments.
Were Western countries involved?
With the Biden administration seizing every opportunity to express full support for Israel in case of a wider war with Hezbollah, it is hard to believe that Tel Aviv carried out such massive cyber attacks without briefing Washington first.
However, US officials quickly denied any knowledge of the pagers attacks in Lebanon and said they had not been notified by the Israelis prior to the attacks. For Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, the timing couldn’t be worse as it will certainly raise the risk of a wider war between Israel and Hezbollah less than two months before the US presidential election.
CNN reported this Wednesday that US officials were in contact with Iran the day of the first attack through a third country to confirm that the US had no role in the attacks. “At the moment, the feeling of the Biden administration is that Hezbollah is confused and panicked and will not show an immediate military response. But if a wide retaliatory attack from Hezbollah were to occur, American officials believe that Israel can contain the damage and, if necessary, the United States will help defend Israel,” the report noted.
“Israel’s apparent decision to carry out these attacks was probably influenced by political and operational factors. A US-led ceasefire plan has stalled, and hopes for a diplomatic deal with Hezbollah to pacify the border are slim,” the report added.
The possibility of a massive conflict between Israel and Hezbollah
Regarding the possibility of the start of a large-scale conflict after the pagers-blasts attacks, it should be noted that hours before the first attack on the pagers on Tuesday, Netanyahu’s government had stated that Israel’s war goals would expand and include the return of tens of thousands of Israeli residents to their homes in northern Israel, where they have fled their homes due to the constant firing of Hezbollah rockets.
Approving Netanyahu’s view, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant also said the same day that the only way to do this is through military action. Therefore, the simultaneous explosion of pagers on Tuesday and Wednesday may be a prelude to an all-out attack promised by Israel against Hezbollah.
