New Warfare Era: Israelis Weaponise Consumer Goods in Terror Attacks
Effects of Israeli bombings in Lebanon, Sept. 20, 2024. X/ @jacksonhinklle
By: Mohammad Al-Jaber and Ali Jezzini
September 20, 2024 Hour: 11:22 am
The West constantly moves the goalposts to ensure that even if it violates international law, it would not be held accountable
The Israeli occupation indiscriminately targeted Lebanese civilians and Hezbollah members alike in a terrorist attack the likes of which have never been seen before
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Lebanon is reeling from a devastating strike that targeted various assets of its infrastructure after the Israeli occupation seemingly booby-trapped thousands of pager devices used for communication purposes be it among Hezbollah members, medical staff, or regular civilians. The attack in itself is unprecedented both in terms of the manner in which it was carried out and the demographic it targeted, as the indiscriminate nature raised eyebrows the world over.
The pagers detonated during rush on the first day of school for many. Due to the magnitude of the attack, Lebanese were left confused. Many thought there were shootings or individual altercations, others who were closer in vicinity to the explosions thought they were terrorist attacks, as the chaos that ensued was reminiscent of the bombings that had taken place in the southern suburbs of Beirut in the early 2010s.
Ambulance sirens were echoing throughout Beirut and elsewhere, and due to the infamous rush hour congestion, it was incredibly difficult for EMTs to get to the wounded; the wounded had to resort to mopeds to get to hospitals for treatment.
The Israeli occupation could not have carried out the terrorist operation at a worse time, and deliberately so. The claims of the attack targeting military personnel could not be more outlandishly false. Those targeted include children, as two have died thus far, and numerous civilians.
This is not to mention those who died due to ambulances being occupied with tending to the wounded to the point where they could not tend to people who needed emergency care away from the attacks, or perhaps because they could not reach them in time.
Civilians were a prime target
Every aspect of the attack was deliberate. Its indiscriminate and blanket nature is telling of the Israeli occupation’s tactics and intentions: Inflict as much loss on the enemy regardless of at what cost.
There is also a more implicit issue at hand, which is to tarnish the image of Hezbollah by painting the Resistance as jeopardizing the Lebanese people as it put them in harm’s way when the devices exploded. The overwhelming support the Resistance and the wounded received after the tragedy proved these efforts were met with failure.
Going back to the indiscriminate nature of the attack and how it put countless civilians in harm’s way in more ways that could be fathomable. Perhaps a truck driver could have had his explode while on the highway, losing him control over the vehicle and jeopardizing civilians; a nurse helping in the delivery of a baby; a father carrying his child while resting their body on his waist and so on and so forth.
When looked at from this perspective among many others, it begs the question: Does such an atrocity violate international law? It does. The attack in of its facets, violates international law. The Amended Protocol II of the UN’s Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) prohibits the booby-trapping or the planting of explosives in what seems to be harmless portable objects.
Even more so, and more flagrantly, the attack violates the Geneva Convention, which clearly prohibits indiscriminate attacks, and this attack, as per the aforementioned talking points, qualifies as indiscriminate.
A dangerous precedent
One key issue that seems to be glanced over throughout this debacle is how this sets an extremely dangerous precedent, as this is primarily a civilian-use electrical appliance, as aforementioned.
It is used by civilians, doctors, and off-duty fighters, meaning its use for an attack of such magnitude opens the door for much worse attacks of the sorts, and we might see a future where the weaponization of dual-use consumer goods on an industrial level – again, we are talking about over devices – becomes the norm in warfare.
Not to draw comparisons between the Israeli occupation and Russia, but if Moscow had infiltrated Ukraine’s supply chain and rigged thousands of devices that made their way to military personnel and trickled down to some EMTs and civilians before blowing them up while they were at home or in traffic, there would certainly be more uproar from the collective West.
While eastern “bloc” countries such as Russia, Iran, and China, and even regional Resistance movements carry out any movements or make threats out of self-preservation and self-defense, the whole world rushes to condemn them. Still, the West – be it the United States, France, the United Kingdom, or the Israeli occupation – constantly moves the goalposts to ensure that even if it violates international law, they would not be held accountable.
This is especially the case for the Israeli occupation, being the highly valuable Western asset it is. Therefore, instead of being held accountable for their actions, they bend and twist international law to fit their contorted view of the world, violating any and all conventions, laws, and regulations with few to no repercussions.
Autor: Mohammad Al-Jaber and Ali Jezzini
Fuente: Al Jazeera
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