Former commander calls beeper offensive against Hezbollah ‘precise and discriminating’

Exploding beepers were intended only for terrorists who are ‘legitimate and lawful targets for attack as Israel seeks to defend its citizens from violent aggression.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The former commander of British military forces in Afghanistan, Colonel Richard Kemp, praised the beeper offensive against Hezbollah as “precise and discriminatory” and effective at weakening the morale and capacity of the Lebanese terror group.

The offensive on Tuesday involved the spontaneous explosion of thousands of beepers used by Hezbollah terrorists, wounding thousands and killing over a dozen.

Additional injuries and deaths occurred on Wednesday in Lebanon and in Syria, where 19 IRGC terrorists were killed and 150 were injured.

Kemp told Israel National News that three salient factors make the beeper mission uniquely effective.

“First, it will have done immense damage to the terrorist organization, taking a large number of its fighters and leaders out in one go. Plus, of course, it severely undermines their communications capability,” Kemp said.

He added, “Second, it will have intimidated Hezbollah, potentially frightening some members into leaving the group or scaring off recruits from joining.”

Kemp explained, “The psychological impact will be enormous, with every Hezbollah terrorist now fearing that almost everything he owns or touches, including cars, guns, laptops, radios, and other electrical items, could potentially be weaponized against them.”

He added the constant anxiety Hezbollah members may feel now is a “far cry from the supposed glory of battlefield martyrdom they were promised.”

In addition, Hezbollah may retreat from the notion of a full-scale offensive against Israel since now they realize their terror group operations and technology have been infiltrated.

“Third, it has humiliated Hezbollah, a terrorist organization that struts its power on the world stage, presenting itself as one of the strongest armies in the Middle East.”

Israel’s outsmarting them with this terror attack has led to Hezbollah’s “demoralization.”

Kemp also praised the mission because it effectively targeted only terrorists and limited civilian casualties.

“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.”

He added that the exploding beepers were intended only for terrorists who are “legitimate and lawful targets for attack as Israel seeks to defend its citizens from violent aggression,” he said.

HezbollahHezbollah beeper explosionsRichard Kemp