On Tuesday, September 17, the Israeli government expanded its reign of terror across the broader Middle East in a new wave of attacks on Lebanon. Hundreds of pagers and hand-held radios simultaneously exploded on two successive days in Lebanon, wounding around 3,000. People were killed, lost their eyes and fingers and suffered injuries to their faces, hands, and bodies. This is terrorism!
Mainstream media and government officials in the U.S. are not denouncing these attacks that were aimed at members of Hezbollah, a Lebanese Islamist political party and paramilitary group. The indiscriminate nature of these explosions has killed and harmed many civilians, including children.
This violence can only be understood as state-sponsored terrorism by Israel. Reports point to Israel’s spy agency, Mossad, as responsible for planting explosives in pagers and devices months before the attacks while they awaited clearance into Lebanon. Hezbollah officials have also stated that metal balls designed to maximize the explosions’ effects were placed in these devices to worsen injuries.
These attacks were followed by Israeli extensive airstrikes across Lebanon, which have killed hundreds. Many of these strikes were on residential areas. Lebanon’s hospitals are now overwhelmed. Residents across the country are fearful, and rightly so, about the possibility of additional attacks.
Meanwhile, Israel has continued its onslaught of attacks on Palestinians. Their bombings carry on uninterrupted in neighborhoods and supposed “humanitarian zones” across Gaza, killing civilians, including women and children. Israel has also escalated its raids in the West Bank, leading to more killings and assaults on Palestinians.
Even by United Nations standards, the increased methods of destruction used by the Israeli state violate international law (though these laws are routinely disregarded). Such laws prohibit the use of booby traps disguised as harmless objects and committing violence with the intent to spread terror among civilians.
The Israeli government’s rampage is escalating, and its war front is expanding. Politicians in Lebanon and Iran are preparing for a wider conflict, with the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations saying that Israel has “crossed the red line.”
The interests of those in power in Israel are not new and should not surprise us. Their recent mass attacks are part of a long-standing agenda to expand their control over the region, all while claiming to act in self-defense. This agenda is supported by the United States, which provides billions in taxpayer dollars and military aid to Israel, motivated by interests in the oil-rich and strategically significant region. President Joe Biden has called for a ceasefire, but he has also indicated that “we’ve got a way to go,” all while continuing to send arms and funding.
U.S. voters are rightfully outraged by watching this genocide unfold, but almost every politician running for election is emphasizing the necessity to support Israel. Their actions contradict any real commitment to ending the suffering, as long as their interests in the Middle East are maintained.
The Lebanese people, along with many others across the Middle East, recognize their shared struggle with the Palestinian people – made even clearer by these latest attacks. The devastation caused by Israel, with U.S. backing, will persist unless there is substantial resistance against their actions.
It is workers and oppressed people in the Middle East and throughout the world who are the victims of this violence. The imperialist regimes of the world are leading us into these endless wars for their benefit.
We must stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and organize against our shared oppressors. We must work towards ending this exploitative system once and for all. Our lives depend on it.
