Sputnik International

Lebanese minister: Israel’s aggression not only targets Hezbollah, but the country’s sovereignty

"Israeli aggression against Lebanon is a flagrant crime of our time," Lebanese acting Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddine told Sputnik. "It is clear that the goal of this terrorist attack is to harm as many Hezbollah supporters as possible, so they can later claim victory and avoid a ground invasion."

In response to the attacks, Sharafeddine announced Lebanon's intention to seek an international arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

"Lebanon must file a complaint with the International Court, as these attacks fall under international law," he stressed.

The minister also highlighted the US bias in favor of Israel, pointing out that the US supports Israel "financially, logistically, and militarily" while using its veto power on the international stage.

"Israel's strength lies in its alliances," Sharafeddine noted, adding that its technology, sourced from the US and Europe, is used against Arab nations including Lebanon and Palestine.

He affirmed that the attacks were an assault on Lebanon’s sovereignty, not just Hezbollah. "It is noteworthy that every time we are under attack, the Americans immediately intervene, dictating to certain parties what to do to calm the situation on the front,” Sharafeddine said.

“Credit must be given to the resistance – they adhere to the rules of engagement and carefully consider their response, as they do not want to drag Lebanon into a larger conflict."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

When electronics turn deadly: booby-trapping techniques and origins Two waves of blasts of pagers and walkie-talkies rocked Lebanon on September 17 and 18, claiming the lives of at least 25, including children. Israel was accused of booby-trapping communication devices used by Hezbollah members in what the Lebanese government denounced as a terror attack. Remarkably, turning innocuous objects into bombs can be trace back to the US military manuals dated as early as 1965. ◻️ The Intercept reported on Thursday that the US Army's Field Manual 5-31 described in detail how devices ranging from office equipment to kitchenware could be booby-trapped. ◻️ The US Army manual TM 31-200-1 from 1966 explained how to plant a small explosive charge in a communication headset to cause serious injury. ◻️ In 1996, Israeli security agency Shin Bet reportedly used a technique similar to those to detonate a small charge of RDX explosives near the ear of Hamas operative Yahya Ayyash. ◻️ In 2010, Al-Qaeda* spread information on how to hide explosives in the ink cartridge of a printer and pass it through airport security undetected. ◻️ A Stuxnet malware attack on Iranian nuclear enrichment centrifuges at Natanz facility in September 2010 caused the fast-spinning machines to tear themselves apart, in what is said to be a joint US-Israeli op. ◻️ In July 2014, Popular Mechanics explained how a working smartphone can be turned into an improvised explosive device filled with PETN or RDX. ◻️ In April 2017, CNN quoted US intelligence agencies as saying that ISIS* had developed ways to plant explosives in electronic devices that can evade airport security screening. ◻️ In 2023 Ecuadorian journalists received USB sticks reportedly charged with RDX. When plugged into computers they exploded and injured a television presenter. *banned for terrorism in Russia and other countries 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🌪 Storm Boris wreaks havoc across Europe The Danube has burst its banks in Budapest, flooding streets and forcing Hungarian Prime Minister Orban to postpone his international engagements. In Italy, the Emilia-Romagna region has been heavily affected, with thousands evacuated and two people reported missing. Rescue helicopters are operating as residents of towns including Traversara wait on rooftops for aid. In Germany, Saxony is bracing for the peak of the Elbe river's flooding, with water levels far exceeding the usual. 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Pager bomb ‘psychological warfare’ against Lebanon may be prelude to Israeli ground invasion, observer fears “The damage is heavy. We’re not just talking about material damage,” Beirut-based political analyst and researcher Yeghia Tashjian told Sputnik, comparing the chaos and uncertainty gripping Lebanese society in the immediate aftermath of Tuesday’s pager explosions to the chaos following the August 4, 2020 Beirut port blast. The pager attacks constituted “psychological terror and psychological warfare that Israel is inflicting on the Lebanese people,” Tashjian explained.

“There were a lot of injuries, ambulances, people with blood injuries.” “There were also kids – and this is very important, because sometimes we are seeing in the media as if the targets were only Hezbollah fighters and so forth. No, there were kids also. I think two or three kids have been martyred so far,” the observer emphasized, recalling that Tuesday’s attack took place in the late afternoon, when students were returning from schools, and public areas were crowded.

Tashjian fears the pager attacks may be a prelude to an Israeli ground invasion, saying it’s “clear” to him that Tel Aviv is behind the carnage, and that Prime Minister Netanyahu needs the war in Gaza to continue and spread to save him against criminal charges at home.

“My assumption is that given the history of cyber terror attacks in the world, usually countries, when they are going to attack or invade another country, they start with cybersecurity attacks in order to inflict psychological damage, infrastructural damage, and then they engage with conventional wars,” the observer warned.

Hezbollah, Iran, Turkiye, the Gulf countries, and even Israel’s Western allies do not want the war to spread, Tashjian said, pointing to the Lebanese militia’s strategy of “calculated deterrence,” and the immense damage that would be done to Lebanon’s already fragile economy and society in the event of an all-out war. 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇳 The "Fire Dragon Dance" street show was performed in Hong Kong, China. Thousands of locals and tourists gathered in the Tai Hang district to witness the famous performance, a tradition that has been held here for over 140 years. 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The IDF has confirmed its forces struck some 100 rocket launchers and facilities it claims belonged to Hezbollah. The Israeli military further described the targeted munitions as being 'ready to be used in the immediate future' against Israel.

Pager blasts threaten to tank electronics markets, let ‘evil genie’ out of bottle to ‘wreak destruction on monstrous scale’ – observers The wave of coordinated explosions of communications equipment and other electronic devices across Lebanon this week threatens to create “a huge trust deficit in many parts of the Global South” toward US, Japanese and European electronics makers, and “could have a substantial impact on the market,” Hasan Abdullah, analyst and researcher at Global Security & Strategy Institute told Sputnik.

“When you have countries [seeing] what’s happened and how a product like pagers have been used for this purpose, it’s going to raise many questions about whether they can trust their traditional suppliers or if they could also fall victim,” Abdullah said, stressing that while Western intelligence services’ ability to spy on people using electronics like smartphones are well-known, this week’s attacks marked an “unprecedented” and eye-opening new development.

Economist and political commentator Rodney Shakespeare says the pager attacks were terrifying because they exploited “a general weakness which goes far beyond” these particular models of communications equipment.

“A much larger range of electronic devices (even baby alarms) could be at risk from malicious actors such that vast areas of the economy and life in general are now at considerable risk. In short, a twisted, perverted and very evil genie could be out of the bottle and be able to wreak destruction on a monstrous scale,” Shakespeare warned.

“At the moment it is far from clear as to the extent of the damage which will be done in the future by the Israelis and other malicious actors. However, this is a terrible situation which, unfortunately, is part of a larger situation which could spiral into some form of wholesale war.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

In Germany, a bus driver insisted that a migrant family clean up the chips their children had scattered before leaving the vehicle. Every bus in Germany has signs posted at the entrance prohibiting eating and drinking during the journey. 📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Israeli aviation is striking southern Lebanon, according to local media reports. The attacks began earlier in the day. The leader of Hezbollah called them "unprecedented" and added that the country is in a state of war. The IDF claims that today its fighter jets hit around 30 Hezbollah launchers. In response to the numerous airstrikes on southern Lebanon (over 80 so far), Hezbollah began shelling northern Israel, scoring several hits.

Israeli aviation is striking southern Lebanon, according to local media reports. The attacks began earlier in the day. The leader of Hezbollah called them "unprecedented" and added that the country is in a state of war. The IDF claims that today its fighter jets hit around 30 Hezbollah launchers. In response to the numerous airstrikes on southern Lebanon (over 80 so far), Hezbollah began shelling northern Israel, scoring several hits.