Two Years After Lebanon Pager Attack, Israel Faces No War Crimes Accountability, Rights Groups Say

In September 2024, hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members exploded simultaneously across Lebanon. Dozens of people were killed and thousands were wounded. Among the dead were at least two children, and civilians were among the thousands injured, according to reporting at the time and human rights documentation since.

Two years later, no government or court has held anyone accountable for the operation, according to Ghida Frangieh, head of litigation at the Legal Agenda, and Ramzi Kaiss, a Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, who both spoke to The New Arab.

"The pager attacks are an unprecedented war crime that received widespread international condemnation," Frangieh said. "However, the Israeli perpetrators continue to openly brag about this war crime, and no sufficient measures were taken to ensure they are held accountable."

After the explosions, then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant publicly praised the Israeli army, the Shin Bet, and the Mossad for what he called "very impressive results." Israeli media outlets described the operation as an "extraordinary intelligence" and "stunning tactical" success, citing former intelligence officials and analysts close to the security establishment.

Kaiss said that public credit-taking, paired with the absence of consequences, has had an effect beyond the pager attacks.

"I think the Israeli military appears to feel emboldened by this impunity," Kaiss said. "Not only have we seen more recent continuation of similar patterns that were documented before, but have seen just open declarations by the Israeli military and government leaders talking about either boasting about war crimes that have been committed, or speaking openly about their intention to commit further atrocities."

Human Rights Watch has separately documented what it calls unlawful attacks and apparent war crimes by Israeli forces in Lebanon, including the deliberate targeting of civilians, journalists, and medical workers, the unlawful use of white phosphorus, and attacks on peacekeepers, Kaiss said. None of these have produced accountability, he said, for three reasons: the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over crimes committed on Lebanese territory, Israel's principal allies have not applied meaningful pressure, and Lebanon itself has not opened a domestic judicial investigation.

Frangieh said the Lebanese government filed complaints with the UN Security Council and the International Labour Organisation but did not launch a serious national investigation or request an international probe to preserve evidence and build a legal case. She said Lebanon could open accountability pathways by accepting ICC jurisdiction over war crimes committed on its territory, including the pager attacks, or by pursuing cases in foreign courts under universal jurisdiction.

A UN assessment team has been on the ground in Lebanon for three months conducting independent documentation of alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, according to Kaiss.

Kaiss also called on states that continue to arm Israel to suspend weapons sales, military assistance, and arms transport, citing what he described as a well-documented record of war crimes in Lebanon and Gaza.

"There are choices to be made by states that continue to provide weapons to Israel, whether they're willing to violate international law and, in many cases, their own domestic law, in order to continue arming a military that has been committing war crimes after war crimes," he said.