UN experts condemn explosions of pagers, radios in Lebanon, Syria

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) – UN human rights experts on Thursday condemned the "malicious manipulation" of thousands of electronic pagers and radios to explode across Lebanon and Syria, describing the attacks as "terrifying" violations of international law.

"These attacks violate the human right to life, absent any indication that the victims posed an imminent lethal threat to anyone else at the time," the experts said in a statement.

They stressed that such attacks require prompt, independent investigation to determine the truth and hold those responsible accountable for the crime of murder

The experts noted that pagers and radios were reportedly distributed mainly to people allegedly associated with the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, which includes civilian and military personnel and is involved in an armed conflict with Israel along the border.

"To the extent that international humanitarian law applies, at the time of the attacks, there was no way of knowing who possessed each device and who was nearby," they underscored.

"Simultaneous attacks by thousands of devices would inevitably violate humanitarian law, by failing to verify each target, and distinguish between protected civilians and those who could potentially be attacked for taking a direct part in hostilities."

They warned that such attacks "could constitute war crimes of murder, attacking civilians, and launching indiscriminate attacks, in addition to violating the right to life."

Humanitarian law also prohibits the use of booby traps disguised as apparently harmless portable objects but specifically designed and built with explosives, which could include a modified civilian pager, they said.

"It is also a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians, including to intimidate or deter them from supporting an adversary," they warned, adding: "A climate of fear now pervades everyday life in Lebanon."

They urged states to bring to justice those who ordered and executed these attacks, including by exercising universal jurisdiction over war crimes.

The experts also called on parties to refrain from further humanitarian law violations and settle their disputes peacefully in accordance with international law.

"The escalation of violence destabilises the whole region," they said, adding, "The Security Council and the General Assembly must act to restore peace and justice."

At least 37 people were killed and more than 3,250 injured on Tuesday and Wednesday in wireless device explosions that targeted thousands of pagers and Icom wireless units used by members of Hezbollah and medics across Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry.

Earlier on Thursday, Japanese firm Icom said it had stopped producing and exporting the model of walkie-talkies that exploded in Lebanon, while Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo on Wednesday denied making pager devices, which exploded across the country.

It said the pagers that exploded in Lebanon were manufactured by BAC Consulting KFT, a firm based in Budapest, Hungary’s capital.

However, the Budapest government claimed that the devices that exploded in Lebanon "have never been in Hungary."

The BAC is shrouded in mystery as no company officials returned Anadolu's phone calls or emails. Later on Wednesday afternoon, the company's website also became inaccessible.​​​​​​​

Lebanese authorities blame Israel for the incident but there has been no Israeli comment on the blasts, which came amid an escalation in cross-border warfare between Israel and Hezbollah since the start of Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed nearly 41,300 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.