nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com

The Israeli government did not tamper with the Hezbollah devices that exploded, defense and intelligence officials say. It manufactured them as part of an elaborate ruse.

In Lebanon, as Israel picked off senior Hezbollah commandos with targeted assassinations, their leader came to a conclusion: If Israel was going high-tech, Hezbollah would go low. It was clear, a distressed Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, said, that Israel was using cellphone networks to pinpoint the locations of his operatives.

. . .

Israeli intelligence officials saw an opportunity.

Even before Mr. Nasrallah decided to expand pager usage, Israel had put into motion a plan to establish a shell company that would pose as an international pager producer.

By all appearances, B.A.C. Consulting was a Hungary-based company that was under contract to produce the devices on behalf of a Taiwanese company, Gold Apollo. In fact, it was part of an Israeli front, according to three intelligence officers briefed on the operation. They said at least two other shell companies were created as well to mask the real identities of the people creating the pagers: Israeli intelligence officers.

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  • chakan2@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1143·
    3 months ago

    They eliminated 2800 terrorists and only killed 20 civilians. That’s the most successful attack on an entrenched gorilla force in the history of humanity.

    Hezbollah and Hamas love to use civilians, children, and humanitarian aid as shields. Committing war crimes to stop the people committing war crimes is an odd argument.

    This was a much more humane attack than firing RPGs from a hospital for example.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
      397·
      3 months ago

      They eliminated 2800 terrorists

      Israel said they’re terrorists…

      They also called American citizens who protest the American government providing arms for a genocide terrorists…

      Would you be ok with them blowing up US college students for using the first amendment?

      • chakan2@lemmy.worldEnglish
        532·
        3 months ago

        It’s more like can we pick off those 2 or 3 people in that crowd of protesters that are about to do serious harm? If so…yea…do it.

        • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
          323·
          3 months ago

          But we don’t know if they did…

          IDF claims it only hit targets, which we know isn’t true, and people standing next to them were blown up too

          I just don’t understand why anyone would just take the IDFs word, they lie constantly

          • wick@lemm.eeEnglish
            520·
            3 months ago

            Ideally you don’t take their word, you send journalists and international investigators to the scene to verify.

            What you definitely do not do however is take Hezbollah’s word.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
              152·
              3 months ago

              Ideally you don’t take their word, you send journalists and international investigators to the scene to verify.

              Which has happened and they have shown that obviously if someone blows up while walking down the street, the explosion doesn’t magically know not to injure anyone else

              • chakan2@lemmy.worldEnglish
                213·
                3 months ago

                Weird…you’d think you’d have a problem when the other side does it and takes out only non combatants in a crowd.

                • AWistfulNihilist@lemmy.worldEnglish
                  72·
                  3 months ago

                  You know, I bet they have a problem with both! Shooting a rocket at a market is comparable to putting explosives on a possible combatant and detonating it while they are in a market. Let alone 3,000x that latter scenario.

                  Like I don’t care for terroristic acts on civilians no matter where they come from. I’m unironically ok with them mass targeting the rocket sites, though!

                  • nonailsleft@lemm.eeEnglish
                    2·
                    3 months ago

                    There are videos of Hezbollahbros blowing up in a market and people standing right next to them not getting hurt at all. These are a lot different from say a Hezbollah rocket with a large warhead that can kill a dozen kids

          • chakan2@lemmy.worldEnglish
            323·
            3 months ago

            Because I’m up on the last century of terror in that area. It’s just not compatible with western values…at all.

            It’s weird…all weird. Hezbollah wouldn’t think twice of beheading a gay man in the middle of the street, but here on Lemmy they’re like some bastion of freedom and justice.

            This was a surgical strike against a very evil organization. It’s about as humane as it gets when you’re fighting an inhumane enemy.

            • givesomefucks@lemmy.worldEnglish
              203·
              3 months ago

              This was a surgical strike

              If you ignore all the evidence and just reality in general.

              I can do the same and call a lump of lead a gold nugget, but I’m not going to have much luck selling it to anyone in touch with reality.