"It was not purely the scale of the attack – substantial though it was – that caused shock and disbelief among the Lebanese, but the pervasiveness of it. Doctors tossed away their pagers, wedding planners dispensed with their walkie-talkies, and parents disconnected their baby monitors."

~ Naji Bakhti

#Israel #Lebanon #Hezbollah #pagers
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/20/device-bombs-beirut-lebanon-israel-hezbollah

The device bombs were in our living rooms, in our pockets, in our faces. Beirut is terrified

The impact of the latest outrage in Lebanon is devastating for the citizens of a country caught between Israel and Hezbollah, says author Naji Bakhti

^{Naji Bakhti (The Guardian)}

"They probably thought the world would applaud. The Israeli planners behind one of the most spectacular intelligence actions in the country’s history – targeting thousands of Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon and beyond by exploding the pagers in their pockets – would certainly have expected an ovation for the sheer audaciousness of it."

~Jonathan Freedland

#Israel #Lebanon #Hezbollah #pagers
/4

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/20/pager-bombing-hezbollah-israel-safer-diplomacy

The pager bombing of Hezbollah was jaw-dropping. Will it make Israel safer? Not for long

Reliance on military prowess has become a way of avoiding the path the country must now take: diplomacy, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

^{Jonathan Freedland (The Guardian)}

"Instead, the attack has been branded indiscriminate in Europe and elsewhere because, inevitably, not every Hezbollah operative was alone when their pager exploded – some were close to civilians, including children – and because the fear it’s left behind in Lebanon does not discriminate. Ordinary people doing ordinary things in Beirut or Sidon now contend with a new anxiety, nervous around anyone with an electronic device who might just be a member of Hezbollah."

#Israel #Lebanon #Hezbollah
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