The Israeli pager attack was many things. Terrorism wasn’t one.
Boy, did Israel really put their foot in it with their latest offensive against Hezbollah. Specifically targeting only Hezbollah militants via their pagers and radios to minimize collateral damage – what could the IDF have been thinking?
That seems to be exactly the tone that various international bodies are taking in response to the technologically astonishing synchronized pager and radio attacks against Hezbollah members in Lebanon Sep. 19 and 20. Israel has not openly acknowledged responsibility for the attack, where Hezbollah members’ personal tech devices exploded at a simultaneous signal on two consecutive days, but a U.S. official has confirmed that Israel notified the U.S. about its responsibility for the operation.
Hezbollah has been launching rockets into Israel since Oct. 8, the day after the Hamas raid that started the current war. Hezbollah is an Iranian-funded and -equipped terrorist organization that operates with the primary goal of destroying the state of Israel. Lebanon allows Hezbollah to operate within its borders.
Hezbollah is part of the “Axis of Resistance” that includes Iran, Syria (whose dictator, Bashar Al-Assad, has been engaged in a 12-year-long civil war where he has used chemical weapons on his own citizens), the Houthi militants in Yemen, who are attacking commercial shipping and U.S. warships in the Red Sea, and Hamas, the terrorist organization that started the war in Gaza.
The situation for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is complex. Benjamin Netanyahu is not an ideal Israeli leader, although he was democratically elected, which is more than can be said of the leaders of Iran and Syria. State-sponsored terror organizations such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis may have “elected” leaders but let’s not dignify them by suggesting they are anything close to a democracy.
Perhaps the best way I can put this is to take a cue from “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” by the great Dr. Suess. Given a choice between the leaders of the Axis of Resistance and Netanyahu, I’ll take the seasick crocodile, thank you very much.
I do believe that the Palestinian people deserve a better life. But Hamas and Hezbollah are less concerned with Palestinian welfare than with the destruction of the Israeli state. This is an unacceptable solution for many reasons, including Israel’s basic right to exist as a sovereign state and strategic needs to limit Iranian influence (this latter view shared by other Arab nations in the region).
It’s become acceptable in American and international discourse to condemn Israel for defending itself. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted on social media the day after the pager attacks: “This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict.”
EU head foreign diplomat Josep Borrell said on the same day, “I firmly condemn today’s new attack via the explosion of a high number of electronic devices across Lebanon, which has caused several casualties and a high number of injuries. Once again, the indiscriminate method used is unacceptable.”
I don’t know, it seems like creating a fake supply chain and providing counterfeit devices directly to Hezbollah designed to explode in a terrorist’s hand is quite targeted, not indiscriminate, Minister Borrell. It’s far less indiscriminate than rocket attacks into northern Israel as Hezbollah has been doing for nearly a year.
At the same time U.S. national security officials have declared that Hamas is stonewalling cease-fire talks while killing Israeli civilian hostages held in inhumane conditions and using hospitals and schools as shields for their combat operations. Numerous U.S. officials note that during their talks, the U.S. and Israelis make concessions to Hamas, and then Hamas still refuses to say “yes.”
Sunday on ABC News This Week, National Security Council John Kirby specifically called out Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar for being unwilling to negotiate. “I would say that we are not achieving any progress here in the last week, two weeks,” he said, adding, “So, it doesn’t appear as if he’s willing to move this … forward, but it doesn’t mean that we’re not trying.” Qatar and Egypt are also assisting with the cease-fire talks.
To sum up: Hamas and Hezbollah started a war with Israel. Israel is defending itself. With the pager and radio attacks, Israel showed great superiority with regard to intelligence and technology. It’s not Israel’s fault that they have a tremendous defense, tech, and intelligence infrastructure. It just makes them, you know, militarily superior. That’s not immoral.
When you are a modern Western nation, it’s okay to be held to a higher standard than terrorists. I think the U.S. military would want to be considered a higher moral authority than say, ISIS. There comes a point, sadly, where the prosecution of war becomes decidedly unpleasant. The use of lethal weapons will result in lethal harm. Minimizing civilian casualties is a priority of modern Western nations, including Israel.
It is not a priority of terrorists. To the contrary, it is a common tactic of terrorists to hide behind civilian populations and use any resulting civilian casualties for sympathy to their cause. For too long the propaganda machines of the Axis of Resistance have preyed on the sympathies of Western nations to further their goals and undermine Israel.
The plight of the Palestinian people is real. Their solution does not lie in the terror of the Axis of Resistance that wishes only to destroy the state of Israel and expand Iranian influence. The Palestinians are pawns in this war. Not only does the West need to recognize this reality, but the Gulf Arab states, no friends to Iran, need to step up and eliminate this menace from their region.
Merritt Hamilton Allen is a PR executive and former Navy officer. She appeared regularly as a panelist on NM PBS and is a frequent guest on News Radio KKOB. A Republican for 36 years, she became an independent upon reading the 2024 Republican platform. She lives amicably with her Democratic husband north of I-40 where they run one head of dog, and two of cat. She can be reached at
