[News] Middle East conflict

[heathgate]

This is a remarkable story, isn't it?

The planning and sophistication needed to infiltrate a supply chain and implant thousands of pagers, that remain completely operational, with high-grade explosives, such that they can be made to all go BANG! at some point in the future.

That's quite something.

Pager attack in Lebanon: Two children among 12 killed by exploding pagers, as reports say Israel was behind attack

Thousands of pagers exploded across Lebanon yesterday - reports say Israel's spy agency, Mossad, was targeting Hezbollah fighters.

www.bbc.co.uk

I can't help but admire the audacity of the Israeli military... "We will get you, you can't hide from us"

 

[heathgate]

Oh well done Israel, more escalation towards blowing the whole world up. f*** sake

God Britain has got so much to answer for. "Need to help the Jews find a Homeland after their persecution in Europe, where shall we put it? Anywhere in the world? Anywhere. OK, how about this densely populated part of the middle east, the holy land for three major religions? Excellent idea, that won't possibly go wrong. Back to mine for Pimms?"

Dick, I assume that's your real name... blocked

 

[heathgate]

I have taken you off ignore to suggest that you are arguing with an Israeli plant. Just stop

Who the fook in Israel would plant a poster on NSC,.. You dull Muppet.

 

[crookie]

Because people weren't celebrating their deaths you sick ****

I haven't got to the end of the thread but I haven't read any posts so far celebrating the death of a child

 

[Zeberdi]

I have taken you off ignore to suggest that you are arguing with an Israeli plant. Just stop

I’ve taken you off ignore to answer you.

If I feel like it, I will fact check whoever posts bollix and presents them as facts on this forum so don’t tell me to stop.

As for Israeli ‘plants’ on NSC - really?

 

[crookie]

Let's be honest, every man and his dog has a smartphone these days, including everyone who arrives here in a sinking dinghy. Who the fu*k uses a pager in this day and age ? I can guarantee noone on this board has ever seen one in the last 20 years. Used by a terrorist organisation to avoid phone hacking clearly. Horrible collateral damage it sounds like, but a hell of a lot more sophisticated and targeted than the blanket bombing of Gaza. From an operational and psychological angle, hugely impressive.

Just to state, not a fan of Netanyahu, who has an incredible amount of blood on his hands, and is only prolonging this conflict to keep his arse out of jail

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Dick, I assume that's your real name... blocked

Or instead of abuse, you could engage with the point. An Israeli homeland could have been anywhere in the world. Jews live everywhere in the world, still countless more outside Israel than in it. Almost anywhere else would have removed one of the biggest impediments to world peace that we have today.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Nice!
I’ve celebrated the death and de balling of terrorists in the most targeted mass attack possible. We have had 8000 rockets fired at us this year by these scum. However Israel reacts certain people have a problem with it, I wonder why?

I can't believe this **** hasn't been banned.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Israel hits another refugee camp

Scores killed, injured in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza refugee camp

Israeli warplanes hit several houses in Bureij refugee camp as dozens of people were inside, Civil Defense Service says - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

Netanyahu is a war criminal.

Hopefully that adds one more search result on Google for that phrase.

 

[de la zouch]

You’ve no information on the wider distribution of the pagers beyond the core intended targets. It’s obvious from the reports coming in that the victims didn’t belong to one demographic. And even if they had done, think of the ‘collateral damage’ depending on where the device was stored, or who happened to be sitting next to the owner on a bus or in the market. It’s a a truly dreadful tactic.

Read today’s BBC report even they talk clearly about a highly targeted attack, with only one known civilian death.
Question, how is Israel meant to defend itself?

 

[de la zouch]

I have taken you off ignore to suggest that you are arguing with an Israeli plant. Just stop

An Israeli plant

 

[dazzer6666]

It absolutely is as it’s so indiscriminate. Some of the pagers are doubtless used by Hezbollah but from the reports so far, many were in the possession of innocent civilians, business people and children. Terrorism has many definitions but spreading fear and terror, and a lack of concern over innocent bystanders killed or injured, are key parts of most accepted definitions.

Yep. Pagers still used widely in hospital settings, purchased by parents for their kids who they don’t want to have smartphones etc etc

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Collective punishment always cowardly. But on a less serious not is this 1991 who uses pagers still?!

They moved to pagers because they thought they would be more secure (from Israeli hacking) than mobile phones. Apparently.

 

[AstroSloth]

with only one known civilian death.

And how many civilian injuries?

Plus the fact Israel like to say that every citizen is a terrorist as we've seen in Gaza so to them anyone you hit is a terrorist, their reporting of civilian casualties is massively under reported.

 

[Guinness Boy]

Eh? You really think this shuts them down? This isn't Game Over or anywhere near it.

It shuts down their mobile communications. I should have been clearer.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I agree completely with your last sentence but question that in bold.

If it were the case that taking out several thousand pagers has shut down ‘an entire mo’, there might be a military justification to this attack but I do have doubt they have shut down anything. In fact this could invoke a response from Iran or Yemen while Hezbollah regroup and re-equip. Just this week, Yemen launched a new type of long range missile into the heart of Israel that evaded the Iron dome and oil has already leaked into the waters of the Red Sea from an attacked oil tanker.

Because Israel is not fighting just Hamas in Gaza nor even a state army located in another geographical area but fighting non-state terrorist entities who share a similar ideology to brethren groups spread throughout the ME and Yemen - an all out war with Hezbollah could be devastating for the entire region. Hezbollah are a military strength receiving most of its equipment, training and funding from Iran and Syria and are likely the most heavily armed non-state group in the world.

When all sides to a conflict have a history of showing scant regard for civilian casualties in pursuit of their military objectives, it leaves little hope for civilian welfare in the event of escalation.

There are no winners in this conflict, just losers.

There’s nothing to celebrate here imo.

(EDIT - I should add only my first sentence and next paragraph was really directed at you/your post not the rest)

Yep, agreed, I’ve not phrased that well. It closes down part of their operation, not the whole thing. Anything where they needed to organise on the move.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Hezbollah use pagers instead of mobiles because mobiles are not secure and can be hacked (if you have a national security agency who know how to do it).

It was more that they could trace where people were from their mobile phone signal triangulation. Seemly the Israelis killed a commander using this technology.

 

[carlzeiss]

If you think this is fact, where’s your evidence?

If this is your idea of a joke, you’re a disgrace. Very high and mighty on the Huw Edwards thread, now laughing at a dead child.

Who's laughing at a dead child ? Faulty batteries can be dangerous and there have been incidents in this country caused by fires and explosions where people have actually been killed , including children .

‘Unexploded bombs’: call for action after 11 deaths in UK due to e-bike fires

Dangerous batteries and conversion kits still being sold online, new safety data reveals

www.theguardian.com

 

[Guinness Boy]

Who's laughing at a dead child ? Faulty batteries can be dangerous and there have been incidents in this country caused by fires and explosions where people have actually been killed , including children .

‘Unexploded bombs’: call for action after 11 deaths in UK due to e-bike fires

Dangerous batteries and conversion kits still being sold online, new safety data reveals

www.theguardian.com

So you’re saying that the cause was dodgy Chinese batteries as a serious theory?

Jesus Christ.

 

[carlzeiss]

So you’re saying that the cause was dodgy Chinese batteries as a serious theory?

Jesus Christ.

That was my first thought , on reflection there is probably a more complex explanation but as yet no proof that Israel had anything to do with it as far as I know .

Anyway no harm in publicizing the risks associated with the use of faulty batteries and chargers exploding without warning