Pager, walkie-talkie blasts can constitute a war crime, says UN human rights chief

Amid the brewing tensions in the Middle East, the United Nations on Friday claimed that the detonation of hand-held devices in Lebanon this week could constitute a war crime. The assertion came after Beirut’s top diplomats accused Israel of orchestrating what they are calling a ’terror attack'.

The proclamation came from the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk who was addressing an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Friday. Earlier this week, Lebanon saw two waves of device explosions which reportedly killed 37 people and injured more than 3,400 others.

The Middle Eastern country was left shell-shocked after pagers, walkie-talkies exploded as their users were shopping in supermarkets, walking on streets and attending funerals. While Israel did not claim responsibility for the blasts, the attacks were attributed to the Jewish nation.

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“International humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby-trap devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects,” the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, told the Security Council during an emergency session in Lebanon. The emergency meeting was requested by Algeria.

“It is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians,” he added, repeating his call for an “independent, rigorous and transparent” investigation over the matter, The Times of Israel reported.

Lebanese authorities blame Israel

During the meeting, the Lebanese delegation blamed Israel for the attack and stated that the targeted devices were booby-trapped before they entered the country. “I am appalled by the breadth and impact of the attacks,” said Türk. “These attacks represent a new development in warfare, where communication tools become weapons. This cannot be the new normal,” he added.

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Meanwhile, Lebanon’s top diplomat Abdallah Bou Habib called the attack “an unprecedented method of warfare in its brutality and terror” and told the council that Israel was behind the attack. “Israel, through this terrorist aggression has violated the basic principles of international humanitarian law,” he averred, calling Israel a “rogue state.”

While Israel did not comment on the device explosions, it did maintain that the country will widen “the scope of war” in the region. “I can tell you that we will do everything we can to target those terrorists,” Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon told reporters on Friday when asked about the device explosions.

Danon’s assertion came after Israel conducted airstrikes in Beirut, killing two senior Hezbollah commanders and 16 others. “We have no intention to enter a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, but we cannot continue the way it is,” Danon said. “If Hezbollah does not retreat from our border… through diplomatic efforts, Israel will be left with no choice but to use any means within our rights,” he added.

With inputs from agencies.