Hezbollah pager bombs latest in long list of Israeli strikes on its enemies

Israel has a history of executing sophisticated remote operations, which include complex cyberattacks, remote-controlled machine guns, and suicide drone attacks

Hezbollah and the Lebanese government quickly attributed the nearly simultaneous detonation of thousands of pagers used by the militant organisation's members to Israel. This attack on Tuesday resulted in at least nine fatalities and nearly 3,000 injuries, according to officials.

Many of those affected were members of Hezbollah, although it was not immediately clear if others were also using the pagers. Iran's ambassador to Lebanon was also injured in the pager explosions.

The alleged Israeli attack occurred amid escalating tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed group, which have exchanged fire along the Israel-Lebanon border since the October 7 attack by Hamas ignited the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

 

Israel typically does not claim responsibility for such attacks. Keeping in line with this policy, its military refrained from commenting on Tuesday's attack.

Nevertheless, Israel has a long-standing history of executing sophisticated remote operations, which include complex cyberattacks, remote-controlled machine guns targeting enemies in drive-by shootings, suicide drone attacks, and the detonation of explosives at secretive underground Iranian nuclear facilities.

Based on information compiled by the Associated Press and the Times of Israel, here is a comprehensive list of previous attacks and operations attributed to Israel:

July 2024

Two senior militant leaders in Beirut and Tehran were killed in deadly strikes that occurred within hours of one another. Hamas accused Israel of assassinating its supreme leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Iran's capital. Although Israel did not acknowledge involvement in that attack, it did claim responsibility for the earlier strike on Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

July 2024

Israel targeted Mohammed Deif, Hamas' elusive military commander, in a strike in the densely populated southern Gaza Strip, resulting in at least 90 deaths, including children, according to local health officials. While the Israeli military announced in August that Deif was killed in the attack, Hamas claimed that he had survived.

April 2024

Two Iranian generals were killed in what Iran described as an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Syria. This prompted Iran to launch an unprecedented attack on Israel, involving approximately 300 missiles and drones, most of which were intercepted.

January 2024

Even as Israeli troops were locked in combat with Hamas in Gaza, an Israeli drone strike in Beirut killed Saleh Arouri, a senior official of the militant group in exile.

December 2023

Seyed Razi Mousavi, a longtime adviser to the Iranian paramilitary Revolutionary Guard in Syria, was killed in a drone attack outside Damascus. Iran blames Israel for his death.

2021

An underground nuclear facility in central Iran was targeted by explosions and a major cyberattack that caused widespread blackouts. Not only did Iran accuse Israel of conducting this attack, but also several others on Iranian nuclear facilities using explosive drones in subsequent years.

2020

In a high-profile assassination meant to damage Iran's alleged nuclear programme, top Iranian military scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was killed by a remote-controlled machine gun while travelling in a car outside Tehran. Iran held Israel responsible.

2019

An Israeli airstrike targeted the home of Bahaa Abu el-Atta, a senior Islamic Jihad commander in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of both him and his wife.

2012

Ahmad Jabari, head of Hamas' armed wing, was killed in an airstrike that struck his vehicle. Jabari's death triggered an eight-day conflict between Israel and Hamas.

2010

The Stuxnet computer virus, discovered in 2010, disrupted and destroyed Iranian nuclear centrifuges. It is widely believed to be a joint Israeli-US creation.

2010

Senior Hamas operative Mahmoud al-Mabhouh was assassinated in a Dubai hotel room in an operation attributed to the Mossad intelligence agency, though Israel never acknowledged it. Many of the 26 alleged assassins were captured on surveillance disguised as tourists.

2008

Hezbollah military chief Imad Mughniyeh was killed when a bomb planted in his car exploded in Damascus. He was accused of orchestrating suicide bombings during Lebanon's civil war and of planning the 1985 hijacking of a Trans World Airlines flight that resulted in the death of a US Navy personnel. Hezbollah blames Israel for his assassination.

2004

Hamas' spiritual leader, Ahmed Yassin, was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike while in his wheelchair. Yassin, who had been paralysed since childhood, was one of Hamas' founders in 1987. His successor, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike less than a month later.

2002

Salah Shehadeh, Hamas' second-highest military leader, was killed when a one-tonne bomb was dropped on an apartment building in Gaza City.

1997

Mossad agents attempted to assassinate Khaled Mashaal, then head of Hamas, in Amman, Jordan. Entering Jordan using fake Canadian passports, the agents poisoned Mashaal by placing a device near his ear. However, they were apprehended shortly thereafter, and Jordan's king threatened to annul a recent peace accord if Mashaal died. As a result, Israel sent an antidote, and the agents were returned to Israel. For his part, Mashaal remains a prominent figure in Hamas.

1996

Hamas' Yahya Ayyash, known as the "engineer" for his bomb-making skill, was killed after he answered a rigged phone in Gaza. His assassination triggered a series of deadly bus bombings in Israel.

1995

Islamic Jihad founder Fathi Shikaki was shot in the head in Malta in an assassination widely believed to have been carried out by Israel.

1988

Khalil al-Wazir, military chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), was killed in Tunisia. Better known as Abu Jihad, he had been the deputy of PLO chief Yasser Arafat.

1973

Israeli commandos executed a series of assassinations targeting PLO leaders in their apartments in Beirut during a nighttime raid. This operation was part of a broader campaign of Israeli assassinations of Palestinian leaders, carried out in retaliation for the killings of 11 Israeli coaches and athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.