While the situation in Israel/Palestine is still amidst great conflict, it has escalated to the nearby region of Lebanon, as the state of Israel has attacked Hezbollah, Lebanon’s most prominent Shia political party, which controls the largest army force in the country. The party has long been enemies with the state of Israel, and have been responsible for numerous attacks on Israeli and US soldiers stationed in Lebanon. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah was the largest factor driving them out. In 2006, the two sides were engaged in an all-out war after Hezbollah engaged in a cross-border raid, which culminated in a Hezbollah victory and the death of over 1,000 civilians. Large scale conflicts between the two have since then declined, but tensions between Hezbollah and Israel have always remained high.
Since 1992, Hezbollah has been led by Hassan Nasrallah, a prominent ally of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, Israel’s most prominent opposition in the middle east. Hezbollah has also launched over 8,000 rockets into Northern Israel, most notably on July 27, where 12 young children were killed, which prompted the Israeli attack. This led the Israeli military to engage in drone strikes in Lebanon, most notably coming in the form of pager explosions. From these explosions, 32 people, including 2 children, were killed, with thousands more being severely injured.
So what led to the explosions of these pagers? How did Israel find a way to hijack into these devices, and in any case, how was it even possible for these pagers to explode? The walkie talkies themselves come from the Japanese company ICOM who claim to have stopped producing the model over 10 years ago. However, an executive at ICOM has provided evidence that the pagers were knock offs produced by Taiwanese manufacturers Golden Apollo. The founder of Golden Apollo has come out and stated that his company had an agreement with Hungarian company – BAC – which would allow BAC to manufacture and use Golden Apollo’s name. However, BAC has declined any knowledge of the explosions, with CEO Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono coming out and stating, “I don’t make the pagers. I am just the intermediate”. As of right now, it is still unclear if these pagers were rigged by any corporation or intermediate party. Reports, however, do say that Hezbollah received the pagers approximately 5 months ago.
Since the explosions, Hezbollah has suffered over 600 casualties as a result of various Israeli airstrikes while Israel has claimed that 49 of their own have died due to Hezbollah actions. While both sides have resolved to contain their attacks, the situation is still very threatening as the slightest infraction could bring the entire middle east to an all out war, with a potential for nuclear warfare. With tensions only rising and Hezbollah refusing to step down until a ceasefire is achieved in Gaza, the world can only prepare for the very worst to happen. “We are working towards deescalating the situation in a way that allows people to return home safely,” President Joe Biden said.
