The Lebanese government has filed a complaint at the UN's labor against Israel over the explosion of thousands of pagers used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in September, Lebanese Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram announced Wednesday.
Bayram stated that he traveled to Geneva yesterday to submit the complaint with the International Labor Organization.
“This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” he told reporters in Geneva. “It’s a very dangerous precedent, if not condemned. We are in a situation where ordinary objects — objects used in daily life — become dangerous and lethal."
"I do not know where the outcome (of the complaint) will go, but at least we raised our voices to say and warn against this dangerous approach that strikes at human relations and leads to more conflicts,” he added.
Thousands of pagers purchased by Hezbollah in recent years detonated near-simultaneously on September 7. The pagers had been given out by Hezbollah to its operatives in an effort to avoid the use of hackable high-tech devices such as smart phones.
According to Lebanese reports, 37 people were killed, including two children, and thousands were wounded, with many losing eyes or fingers.
While Israel's critics have attempted to claim that the pager blasts were a war crime, military experts have praised the operation as among the most targeted anti-terror operations in history.
Col. Richard Kemp, the former Commander of the British armed forces in Afghanistan, told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News following the pager explosions, "It’s hard to think of a more precise and discriminating method of attack than detonating pagers known to be specifically assigned to individual terrorists, using devices that limit the potential for collateral damage. I doubt any widespread military attack in history in civilian areas has ever been so precisely targeted."
"The targets of the attack were terrorist fighters who are involved, directly or indirectly, in active combat operations against Israel including rocket and drone attacks every day for almost a year. Under international law that makes them legitimate and lawful targets for attack as Israel seeks to defend its citizens from violent aggression," he said.
Israel has not claimed responsibility for the pager operation, though it is widely believed to have been behind it. The pager operation was followed by the launch of Operation Northern Arrows, Israel's attempt to restore security to its northern region after Hezbollah launched 8,000 rockets at the Jewish state over the previous year, killing dozens and forcing over 60,000 Israelis to evacuate from their homes and communities since October 8, 2023.