INTERNATIONAL LAW AND WAR IN LEBANON
Israel’s Device Attacks in Lebanon Amount to an Act of Terrorism
According to international law, Israel’s coordinated attacks involving pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon could amount to an act of terrorism.
ALMOST A WEEK after Israel unleashed terror among thousands of civilians in Lebanon by remotely detonating pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, there is an emerging consensus among international law experts that the attacks may well amount to an act of terrorism.
The Tuesday and Wednesday attacks of last week claimed the lives of at least 37 people while seriously wounding and maiming more than 3,250 civilians across Lebanon.
As the international community scrambled to take stock of the bloody attacks against Hezbollah’s broader social network, the initial media narrative in the West somewhat appeared sanitized. The bulk of the media reports revolved around the technical aspects of the attacks from a military standpoint and strategic implications for the balance of power between the Iran-backed Shia militia and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in a volatile region buffeted by sporadic…