Every gadget with a battery is a bomb?

The only people who were carrying these pagers were sworn enemies of Israel.

You need to brush up on why Hezbollah was formed in the first place.

It was specifically to end Israel’s illegal occupation of South Lebanon. Despite numerous United Nations resolutions no one did anything to cease Israel’s illegal occupation until Hezbollah was established – they successfully achieved their goal and drove Israel out of Lebanon.

I know! Since he took power by way of a military coup and ruled the country as a despotic dictatorship, the peace-loving majority of Israelis have been powerless to do anything about his tyranny

I really feel for them. It must break their hearts daily having to witness all this

Not helpful in the slightest.

A source close to Hezbollah?

Yes..unfortunately I’ve not yet had the chance to get over there myself to verify the mass casualties

Let’s be honest here, Israel has a track record of not giving a shit about collateral damage to innocents so I doubt it really figured in their minds when coming up with the idea

And one look at the video of one of them going off in a shop (on the bbc site) with a kid standing about a yard away make it pretty easy to understand how indiscriminate this attack could potentially be

It’s cunning, desperate, dangerous and impressive

Looking at it dispassionate, it’s all of these. But it’s backing the Israelis into a war on multiple front at a time when they are losing their international support and gambling with the future of their nation and people, which is just insane.

The other thing coming from all of this is the Taiwanese pager company whose kit was apparently intercepted/exploded, Gold Apollo, have likely had their reputation shat on beyond repair.

Apparently they were made by another company (BAC in Hungary) but using Gold Apollo’s brand name, so GA have nothing directly to do with it.

Whatever you think of the rights and wrongs of this, it has to be the most precision strike in history.

Let’s be honest here, Israel has a track record of not giving a shit about collateral damage to innocents so I doubt it really figured in their minds when coming up with the idea

I don’t see why both can’t be true. Yes there was collateral damage and yes I doubt the planners cared much, but it’s still (relatively) extraordinarily precisely targeted.

To lighten this up a bit…

what if they do the same to vapes? Kill all the Cherry stinking vapour inhalers but at the risk of blowing children’s faces off…

Makes you think, doesn’t it?!?!?

BAC in Hungary will have some explaining to do.

Looking at it dispassionate, it’s all of these. But it’s backing the Israelis into a war on multiple front at a time when they are losing their international support and gambling with the future of their nation and people, which is just insane.

I couldn’t agree more.

Although to be fair Israel doesn’t have a lot of options now, the whole zionist project is collapsing and I am not sure how much of it can be salvaged. Which I guess is possibly how Netanyahu sees the situation too.

There is a highly respected former IDF general who was previously head of the military colleges in Israel, and also Israeli military ombudsman, who feels that unless there is a huge and immediate change of direction Israel will collapse within a year.

I would post links to his views on the matter but it is probably too off topic for this thread and more suitable for the other thread.

BAC in Hungary will have some explaining to do

I’m assuming the Mossad agents who were there are already back in Israel and anyone left is a clueless patsy.

My pager didn’t blow up – looks like i’m out of the team.

extraordinarily precisely targeted

Do you have any information that the people killed or injured were the intended targets? Israel will claim that they only hit their intended targets, but that’s also what they say when bombing schools and hospitals and slaughtering women and children in the tens of thousands.

extraordinarily precisely targeted

Not really, to me it smacks of desperation. They had no way of knowing who had the pagers when they exploded, or where they were, or who they were with at the time. To my mind its only a small step away from out-right terrorism – If the definition includes non combatants and is designed primarily to install fear in a population, both accusations you could easily lay at the feet of Mossad in this instance.

Israel have enough examples thought-out all their fighting with both Hamas and Hezbollah that this sort of audacious operation often achieves precisely the opposite outcome to what’s intended.

Remind me never to order any electronics from wish.il.

To my mind its only a small step away from out-right terrorism 

I wouldnt even call it a small step

I wonder what it would it have been called if all the mobile phones of the Israeli defence force reservists had blown up in a coordinated attack whilst they were sitting down for breakfast with their families..because that’s a direct equivalent of what just happened.

Although tbf, according to some people apparently you can only be a ‘terrorist’ if you are brown…

They had no way of knowing who had the pagers when they exploded, or where they were, or who they were with at the time.

That maybe correct but it seems hardly likely that pagers used by racist, fascist, terrorists, are going to carried by innocent civilians.

Why would they want them? For what purpose?

I still stand by my statement that is a very precisely targeted strike against their enemies.

It’s terrorism full stop. Reading some of the BBC reports and the injuries are grim.

are going to carried by innocent civilians

What about the ones sitting next to them when a bomb explodes? Not really thought this one through have you..

What about the ones sitting next to them when a bomb explodes? Not really thought this one through have you..

I watched the video of the explosion in the supermarket. It’s very small and didn’t appear to injure anyone else?

I’m sure there has been some innocents injured during these events, it’s inevitable.

However, how many innocent lives have been saved if it prevents Hezbollah organising and co-ordinating their terror attacks?

Hezbollah clearly state that they will not stop until the State of Israel is eliminated.  They are are racists, fascists and misogynist’s. They are Holocaust deniers to boot.

The girl killed was 10 year old Fatima Jaafar Abdullah.

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The innovation and ingenuity of this attack is probably the likes we’ve never seen before, an entire shipment modified without anyone knowing, 5000 items turned around in what appears to be a small window, i’d be more prone to guessing that it was completely swapped over for 5000 made by Israel, as it’s not just a simple case of sticking explosives in, all pagers will have had to be turned into detonators, with minimal risk of accidental initiation, not an easy task by the sounds of it.

For this type of operation though, it’s basically Israel publicly stating they can get to the entire core of hezbollah and what is basically a terrorist attack by Israel, i don’t see this as Israel getting desperate, they’re getting more daring, and nobody seems to care around the planet.

Hezbollah clearly state that they will not stop until the State of Israel is eliminated.

Tbh I not going to stop opposing the apartheid state until it is no more.

It was built on a lie……. “A land without a people for a people without land”

The idea that any part of the Fertile Crescent hadn’t yet been inhabited by anyone is of course ludicrous. As is the claim that US or UK Jews, for example, don’t own any land and have to travel thousands of miles to find some.

it has to be the most precision strike in history.

Or one of the lowest precision strikes in history?

Precision means identifying specific targets and accurately hitting only those targets. Distributing thousands of explosive charges to unknown destinations and simultaneously detonating them with no confirmation of their location seems like the opposite of that.

how many innocent lives have been saved

You are clearly completely deluded if you think this act will save innocent lives, rather than escalate the conflict and cost far more.

Or one of the lowest precision strikes in history?

Precision means identifying specific targets and accurately hitting only those targets. Distributing thousands of explosive charges to unknown destinations and simultaneously detonating them with no confirmation of their location seems like the opposite of that.

I’m going to guess that the assumption is that anyone buying a new pager in 2024 is using one for the express interest of coordinating the actions of their [freedom fighter/guerilla/terrorist] group outwith the prying eyes of the IDF (or CIA et al).

 i don’t see this as Israel getting desperate, they’re getting more daring, and nobody seems to care around the planet.

The security services of very country in the region that opposes Iran will care a lot – this is a big blow to Iran and they’ll be thrilled to see Hezbollah weakened like this. Iran will now be utterly paranoid about how their supply chain was compromised so badly and their proxies won’t trust technology – any internet connected device could have been hacked and be listening or be a bomb waiting to go off so there’ll be mountains of electronics getting binned as we speak because Hezbollah will be too scared to use it.

Precision means identifying specific targets and accurately hitting only those targets. Distributing thousands of explosive charges to unknown destinations and simultaneously detonating them with no confirmation of their location seems like the opposite of that.

Here’s a report from the LA Times – nobody has a clue so far how the pagers were modified, but it wasn’t indiscriminate, it was known Hezbollah had adopted pagers because cell phones were too easy to track, so this was specifically targeting an organisation who had recently adopted pagers. Very much asymmetric warfare.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-09-18/lebanon-pager-explosion-explainer

Indiscriminately bombing civilian targets because it’s believed that Hezbollah might be using a basement or there might be a tunnel nearby is not precision targeting.

From the video of the guy in the market, and pictures of the exploded pagers, the explosions were relatively small and people quite close to the carriers seemed to have been uninjured.

Not excusing it and the risks of it going horribly wrong on a much larger scale, but this is way more precise than rockets and bombs aimed at targetting a few thousand people.

Iran will now be utterly paranoid about how their supply chain was compromised so badly and their proxies won’t trust technology – any internet connected device could have been hacked and be listening or be a bomb waiting to go off so there’ll be mountains of electronics getting binned as we speak because Hezbollah will be too scared to use it.

Ah, the fuzzy-wuzzies always get panicky when they see the awesome power of white man’s magic……. they are probably running around in circles screaming.

Or alternatively Hezbollah will see this as a massive lesson to be learnt and Iran will resolve to put more effort into electronic warfare.

they are probably running around in circles screaming.

They’ll be rounding up suspects in the infiltration of their supply lines and subjecting them to some brutal interrogations to try and figure out how this happened. In the meantime, they won’t trust any devices (the reason they were using pagers was because they didn’t trust smartphones), so they’ll be trying to figure out how to run their communications without using any modern electronics.

Wow. No need for that. It’s called hyperbole, not racism.

subjecting them to some brutal interrogations to try and figure out how this happened.

Who will they be brutally  interrogating? . Apparently the explosive material and extra circuit were installed during production in a factory in Europe.

I’m going to guess that the assumption is that anyone buying a new pager in 2024 is using one for the express interest of coordinating the actions of their [freedom fighter/guerilla/terrorist] group outwith the prying eyes of the IDF (or CIA et al).

Nice to know my colleagues are considered fair game.

FWIW our company emergency schemes are pager driven because they work.

I see Iran has been brought into the conversation again as justification for Israel’s terrorism. IMO Israel is a far bigger threat to the west, to peace and security than Iran ever has been.

Breaking news: now it’s possibly exploding walkie-talkies

Seems they were bought at around the same time as the pagers.

https://news.sky.com/story/beirut-blasts-more-communication-devices-explode-in-lebanon-day-after-hezbollah-members-killed-13217277

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-planted-explosives-hezbollahs-taiwan-made-pagers-say-sources-2024-09-18/

i don’t see this as Israel getting desperate, they’re getting more daring, and nobody seems to care around the planet.

People do care but as soon as you publicly criticise Israel, a carefully orchestrated global “hasbara” network engages to shut you down, i.e. chilling effect.

Just look at what happens when key UN / EU figures pipe up with any form of criticism. The AS card gets delt and they back down.

No end to this madness other than a terrible regional war, that could engulf the world. Ironic that the BBC drama Threads is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. In that show it all kicked off in Iran.

FWIW our company emergency schemes are pager driven because they work.

Unless you received a pager from Hezbollah, you’re not affected. Israeli agents seem to have infiltrated the supply chain and intercepted a batch of pagers being sent to Hezbollah and then put explosives in them. If your pagers weren’t in that Hezbollah shipment, they are just regular pagers.

There was apparently a second wave of explosions of walkie-talkies. Hezbollah will be dumping all their electronics after that. And they’ll be working back through their supply chain to try and identify the Israeli agents.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/09/18/world/israel-hezbollah-gaza-hamas#ff00c924-b66c-5a5d-929e-fe60da8b0d9c

…it wasn’t indiscriminate, it was known Hezbollah had adopted pagers because cell phones were too easy to track, so this was specifically targeting an organisation who had recently adopted pagers.

Someone delivered a big crate of pagers to Hezbollah PLC and then detonated them all simultaneously. When the pagers blew up, the bombers presumably had no specific information about whether the pagers were actually being carried, and if they were in use, exactly who was carrying each one, and who they were standing next to in the shop, or on the street or on the school run…

That is not a targeted attack, hence the reported range of casualties.

Who will they be brutally  interrogating?

The agent that Mossad had got placed inside Hezbollah who ordered these particular pagers presumably. News seems to be that these particular devices’ USP is that they’ve got user replaceable parts, like batteries etc. Someone in the organisation made sure it was these particular sorts of devices that were ordered. Maybe even persuaded the leadership that the explosive part was an “encryption device”, so nothing gets looked at too closely

Someone delivered a big crate of pagers to Hezbollah PLC and then detonated them all simultaneously. When the pagers blew up, the bombers presumably had no specific information about whether the pagers were actually being carried, and if they were in use, exactly who was carrying each one, and who they were standing next to in the shop, or on the street or on the school run…

That is not a targeted attack, hence the reported range of casualties.

Of course it’s a targeted attack, even without specific information, just with the usual lack of care towards who might be standing nearby.

Hezbollah specifically bought these for its members to use, in order to avoid Israeli tracking. They were to be used for Hezbollah purposes (ie, against Israel) which is a military/terrorist organization. Of course it’s reasonable to assume that almost all of the devices would be on or near an active Hezbollah member when they explode.

No one here’s defending whether this attack was done right. But to say it was completely indiscriminate or a terrorist attack is ridiculous.

War crime? Maybe. Terrorism? No.

Without going in to the full legalities of what is going on between states/other groups, I thought that weapons designed to deliberately and permanently maim rather than kill were very illegal.

Given 2738 of 2750 people targeted by this weapon have not been killed, it seems clear that maiming rather than killing was the intent. The pagers could have just been designed to be bricked on a command rather than explode.

(I am not commenting on whether it is a good or bad thing that those targeted have been taken out of action, just questioning whether a State can legally use weapons designed in this way)