Dr Ahron Bregman, senior teaching fellow at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies, says: “These are anxious days for the people of the Middle East.”
Even Israel’s sworn enemies will have to admit that its apparent James Bond-style operation in Lebanon has been impressive.
I believe the Mossad – aided by other Israeli intelligence agencies – managed to install small bombs in pagers and other communication devices used by Hezbollah, detonate them, injure, and in some cases, kill Hezbollah operators.
This has caused Hezbollah temporary operational difficulties. The Israeli operation also shakes Hezbollah’s confidence. If I were a Hezbollah operator, I would have hesitated to turn on my walkie-talkie lest it explode in my face. This Israeli operation will be at the heart of future Hollywood films, and for good reason, but let’s dive into the more grim reality.
I’m originally from Israel. As a young IDF officer I fought in the 1982 Lebanon war, which led to the birth of Hezbollah, and I’m asking myself: what’s the point? Why did the Israelis embark on this pager-exploding campaign? Surely, you want to keep this shocking surprise for the real moment – for war. But where are the Israeli tanks?
One explanation could be that Hezbollah suspected that something was wrong with its pagers, and the Mossad, realising that it was a matter of using it or losing it, decided, with the approval of the government, to use it. Another explanation could be that the Israelis are trying to humiliate Hezbollah – forcing it to react forcefully, which will give Israel the international legitimacy to embark on an all-out war with its sworn enemy.
These are dangerous days. It might be that we are marching into a big, regional, Middle Eastern war involving not only Israel and Hezbollah but also the likes of Iran, the Houthis in Yemen, as well as Shia militias in Syria and Iraq. These are anxious days for the people of the Middle East.
