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Politics
Mary Ellen O'Connell, Professor of Law and International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

Pager attack on Hezbollah was a sophisticated ‘booby-trap’ operation − it was also illegal

Medics collect blood in Beirut on Sept. 17, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

The operation that used pagers and walkie-talkies to kill members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah was ingenious – but was it legal?

Certainly, there are those who will argue that it was. That thinking goes like this: Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with rockets, and the pagers and radios purchased by Hezbollah could be expected to be used by the same people involved in decisions to send those missiles. As such, the killings, if carried out by Israel as is widely believed, would appear to be targeted and warranted. While some bystanders may die or be injured, they would likely be associated with Hezbollah, according to this line of thinking.

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