Summary
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel has “defeated Hezbollah” following a series of operations, including the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The campaign included a September attack on Hezbollah communication devices, where thousands of pagers exploded in Beirut, killing 39 and injuring over 3,400.
Israeli media reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu personally approved the pager attack despite internal opposition.
Israel now hopes an international coalition encourage Lebanon to normalize relations with Israel.
and their Hezbollah affiliation was unclear.
Why would Hezbollah distribute one way pagers to non-members? These pagers weren’t for sale on the open market. Hezbollah bought them for their members only.
Hezbollah actually had a good idea to use these pagers instead of cell phones. Cell phones can be tracked, these pagers can’t be tracked. Unfortunately for Hezbollah, the IDF has infiltrated the Hezbollah’s communications.
Not all of Hezbollah are combatants, things are not that simple. Not all of Hezbollah are militants, there are many social workers and politicians. Such as members of the Lebanese Parliament and Medical Workers in Hospitals. And even if they were, there are zero guarantees that all the pagers ended up in the hands of Hezbollah members. And even if that was the case, detonating them in public spaces is still a violation of international humanitarian law. By it’s nature this was a massive terrorism attack
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Hezbollah organizes an extensive social development program and runs hospitals, news services, educational facilities, and encouragement of Nikah mut‘ah. Some of its established institutions are: Emdad committee for Islamic Charity, Hezbollah Central Press Office, Al Jarha Association, and Jihad Al Binaa Developmental Association. Jihad Al Binna’s Reconstruction Campaign is responsible for numerous economic and infrastructure development projects in Lebanon. Hezbollah has set up a Martyr’s Institute (Al-Shahid Social Association), which guarantees to provide living and education expenses for the families of fighters who die in battle.
Hezbollah holds 14 of the 128 seats in the Parliament of Lebanon and is a member of the Resistance and Development Bloc. According to Daniel L. Byman, it is “the most powerful single political movement in Lebanon.” Hezbollah, along with the Amal Movement, represents most of Lebanese Shi’a.
