Exploding Hezbollah pagers 'audacious' deterrence message from Israel to Iran: one expert says

The fallout in the Middle East continues after last week’s “audacious” covert cyber attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon, when thousands of suspected operatives linked to the Iran-backed terror militia saw their army-issued pagers suddenly explode. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied it was behind the sabotage of the booby-trapped devices, nor was the spy service taking credit for the following day’s second act: when scores of Hezbollah walkie-talkies caught fire. The explosions killed at least 37 people in Lebanon and parts of Syria, including a few children and a woman, but military analysts say the events have left thousands of Hezbollah members severely maimed and unable to fight. Condemnation for the pager attacks has come from the United Nations, and also from Canada, and France, and even from a former Director of the CIA, who says it was terrorism. Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah said the attacks crossed the red line and vowed to retaliate. But can he, really, with so many soldiers in hospital and his surviving generals scrambling to find a safer way to communicate without cell phones, pagers or walkie talkies? Why did Israel launch its sleeper operation now? Was it a prelude to an escalation? And what will Iran–who funds Hezbollah–do? To answer these and other questions, we’ve turned to Alex Wilner, a professor at Carleton University’s Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, one of Canada’s top experts in deterrence by denial, strategic studies, terrorism and counterterrorism. Wilner joins this episode of The CJN Daily to explain what message Israel was really sending and what to expect next.

What we talked about

• Read more about why supporting the exploding pagers operation on his social media cost veteran Canadian diplomat his job at Ottawa U last week, in The CJN.
• Hear how a Toronto-raised IDF soldier, Ben Brown, was seriously wounded by an explosion from a Hezbollah rocket near his army base, on The CJN Daily.
• Why Hezbollah rockets have forced 60,000 Israelis to be displaced from northern Israel’ border with Lebanon since October. 7, on The CJN Daily.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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