UK lawmaker calls for halt on all arms exports to Israel following waves of explosions in Lebanon

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) – Labour Party lawmaker Zarah Sultana on Thursday reiterated her call to cease arms sales to Israel after communication device explosions in Lebanon, saying "Israel knows it can commit war crimes with impunity."

Recalling a two-wave attack using wireless devices that exploded in Lebanon, Sultana said "Israel’s indiscriminate detonation" of pagers and walkie-talkies across homes, workplaces and streets has killed at least 37 people and injured over 3,000 others.

"Israel knows it can commit war crimes with impunity. End all arms sales NOW," she wrote on X.

On Sept. 2, the British government announced that it was suspending 30 out of 350 arms export licenses to Israel after a review, warning that there is a clear risk that certain UK arms exports to Israel might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.

The 30 licenses cover components for military aircraft, helicopters, drones and items that facilitate ground targeting, excluding UK components for the F-35 fighter jet program.

Earlier on Tuesday, thousands of pagers exploded in Beirut and other parts of Lebanon, killing 12 and injuring 2,323. A second wave of device explosions on Wednesday killed 25 people and injured 608 others.

There has been no Israeli response to the blasts, which occurred amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the beginning of Israel's deadly onslaught against the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 people, the majority of whom are women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 of last year.