Yesterday saw concurrent explosions of thousands of portable pagers used by Hezbollah forces, an armed force in Lebanon. A total of 12 individuals were killed in the explosions, two of them were children. There were around 3,000 more injuries, several of them serious.
Although no country or group has taken credit for the blasts, it is easy to assume who is in charge. Under the guise of combating terrorism, Israel is a country that engages in terrorizing certain Arab civilian communities. The same country has been preoccupied with committing atrocities in the Gaza Strip starting after Hamas attack last year. Although the confirmed casualties for Palestinians is above 41,000, the real number is probably much higher.
The strike on Tuesday was supposed to be directed against Hezbollah operatives who were carrying pagers. Nevertheless, it was executed knowing full well that the consequences would be widespread. There have been several civilians killed as a result. The Israeli incursion of Lebanese soils in 1982 is the sole reason for Hezbollah’s establishment. Many thousands of Palestinian and Lebanese people were killed in the onslaught. Israel continued to occupy the southern part of Lebanese soils for eight years.
By then, the Hezbollah-formed uprising had humiliatingly compelled the Israeli troops to evacuate its men. Israel launched a 34-day invasion against Lebanon six years later to retake its territory. The attack claimed the lives of over one thousand individuals, the most of whom were civilians, and completely destroyed Lebanon’s infrastructure.
Naturally, Israel consistently asserts that its actions are in self-defense. Thus, it appears that knowingly exploding pagers throughout Beirut and other cities were included to the arsenal of Israeli tactics. However, a cursory look at history indicates that Israeli schemes in Lebanon have historically been motivated by clearly predatory goals, just like in Palestine.
Pagers Explosion; A New Phase of Atrocities
A former Israeli prime minister described the goal of military Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan who was searching for a Lebanese army commander, who might be persuaded to support Israel. He thought that in order to get him to accept and proclaim himself as the saving grace of the Maronite community, Tell Aviv needed to either conquer his soul or bribe him with dollars.
Nearly 600 Palestinians have died in Lebanon since the complete slaughter in Gaza began last year. Israel, which also committed to killing Hezbollah commander two months ago, has been waging a kind of parallel conflict. Three civilians, including two children, were murdered in the incident, while 74 others were injured.
However, the widespread violence caused by detonating pagers elevates outrage to an entirely fresh plane. Hospitals in Lebanon are overcrowded. The Lebanese health officials are working frantically to get blood donations for the injured. The US is keeping an eye on the circumstances while trying to whitewash its possible engagement. Journalists questioned US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller about speculations that Israel would soon proclaim that the northern front of this war—which includes Lebanon—is the major frontline.
