The world and specifically the U.S. were impressed with Israel’s intelligence capabilities after the pager detonations in Lebanon and Syria attributed to it injured hundreds of Hezbollah terrorists and senior Radwan Force operatives in precise airstrikes.
However, these developments reignited worries about an all-out war taking place in the Middle East. While the U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the eliminations in Beirut were a “good result”, others in U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration think otherwise.
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U.S. President Joe Binde, scene of strikes in Beirut
(Photo: AP / Manuel Balce Ceneta, AFP)
Researcher Lina Khatib told the New York Times that the last week marked the end of "18 years of mutual deterrence," between Israel and Hezbollah, during which both sides refrained from actions that could lead to war. She noted that this balance has now been replaced by "a new phase of unilateral Israeli dominance."
According to the Washington Post, Israel didn’t inform the U.S. in advance about the attack involving the pagers and walkie-talkies attributed to it. "Privately," it was reported, "some of them [U.S. officials] had expressed a range of responses, from 'awestruck admiration' that Israel’s could pull off such an ‘ingenious plan,' to 'anxiety' that the brazen operation risks provoking a wide regional war."
Reuters reported that Hezbollah began distributing the pagers to its members starting in 2022, continuing until just days ago. At least one device exploded while still in the mailbox of the terrorist to whom it was addressed.
Each device contained "up to 3 grams" of explosives which Hezbollah failed to detect for months, despite testing the devices upon their arrival. As part of its inspections, Hezbollah even passed the devices through airport security to ensure they didn’t trigger explosive alerts. However, a security source told Reuters that "it's very hard to detect it through any means. Even with any device or scanner."
Former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos, who served in counterterrorism roles in the Middle East, told the Washington Post the operation was " the most impressive kinetic operation I can recall in my career. Israeli intelligence is living in [Hasan] Nasrallah’s brain."
A senior Biden administration official noted that while the White House was impressed by the Israeli operation, it still doesn't fully understand Israel’s broader strategy in Lebanon. According to the Washington Post, some expressed frustration that "Israel acted against the backdrop of months of painstaking U.S. efforts to secure a cease-fire in Gaza, which would have also led to the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid to the Strip."
The Washington Post added that American officials "expressed frustration," the U.S. and its allies had worked to reduce tensions in Lebanon for nearly a year before the operation. They pointed out that, up until now, Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel, though deadly, had been "sporadic."
Now, the conflict could escalate into a broader war, according to the officials. " The U.S. will have to decide how much they want to do to help Israel, and I don’t know what the answer to that is," an American advisor told the Washington Post.
"They’ll likely continue to supply Israel with whatever it needs to defend itself, but there are serious voices in the administration who wonder, ‘Israel did this to themselves — why should we help them?” he added.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who praised Ibrahim Aqil’s elimination in Lebanon, also warned of an "acute risk of escalation" on the Israel-Lebanon border.