On Sunday, September 15, 2024, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his security Cabinet, pledging to take all necessary steps to ensure that the 70,000 Israelis displaced from northern border villages due to ongoing conflict with Hezbollah could safely return home. Just two days later, on Tuesday, September 17, a coordinated series of explosions hit hundreds of pagers—a basic communication device—across Lebanon and parts of Syria in the late afternoon. These blasts resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people and left over 2,800 injured.
The following day, on Wednesday, September 18, similar attacks occurred, this time targeting walkie-talkies and other communication devices in Lebanon. The explosions killed 20 more people and injured at least 450 others.
The attacks primarily affected Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shia militia, which relies on pagers and walkie-talkies for internal communication. Hezbollah swiftly accused Israel of orchestrating the strikes, while Iran denounced the incident as an act of mass murder in Lebanon. The explosions sparked widespread concern about the ethics of weaponizing civilian communication devices, particularly as Lebanon's health officials confirmed that two children were among the casualties. They were also unable to definitively separate the civilian victims from Hezbollah members.
Israel, as is typical in such situations, has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the attacks. However, if Israel was behind the operation, questions arise as to how it managed to execute such a large-scale assault on communication devices across the region.
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