Middle East updates: Radios in Hezbollah attack 10 years old

Israeli man arrested over alleged Netanyahu assassination plot

Israeli officials confirmed that police have arrested an Israeli citizen over allegations he was recruited by Iranian intelligence to plan the assassinations of key Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant or the head of the Shin Bet national security service. 

“An Israeli citizen was recruited by Iranian intelligence to promote assassinations of Israeli figures. He was smuggled twice into Iran and received payment for carrying out missions,” the police and Shin Bet said in a statement.

The arrest took place last month, authorities said. Last week, Shin Bet uncovered what it said was a plot by Hezbollah to assassinate a former senior defense official, later identified as the former army Chief of Staff and Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon.

Germany warns ‘all sides’ against escalation

“I warn all sides against further escalation in the Middle East,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on social media site X.

“For months, we, alongside our partners, have led discussions, made phone calls until our fingers bleed, celebrated the smallest strides towards stability,” she wrote, adding that “attacks and counterattacks do not bring the region a single millimeter towards peace.”

Attacks are a ‘staggering blow’ to Hezbollah, retired IDF general says

Assaf Orion, a retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) brigadier general and a current international fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, agreed with US assessments that Israel probably carried out the walkie-talkie and pager attacks in  Lebanon.

“Who profits? That’s a good question to begin with. I think all of Hezbollah’s enemies are benefitting,” he told DW. “When you think of the capabilities needed to carry out such an attack, it’s probably Israel.”

Asked about the damage the incidents have caused Hezbollah, he said, “Physically, there’s a major disruption at the command and operational levels.”

He said the attacks represented a “staggering blow” to the organization and would create a “lack of trust in its own security.”

Orion added that “the only option” for stopping hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah appears to be “a cease-fire in Gaza, which does not seem to be within reach.”

Japanese firm: Radio ‘discontinued 10 years ago’

Japanese firm Icom has issued a statement about the devices used in an attack on Hezbollah fighters. Walkie-talkies used by the militant group exploded Wednesday, a day after a similar made pagers explode.  At least 20 people were killed and 450 were injured in the second attack.

“The IC-V82 is a handheld radio that was produced and exported, including to the Middle East, from 2004 to October 2014. It was discontinued about 10 years ago, and since then, it has not been shipped from our company,” Icom said.

“The production of the batteries needed to operate the main unit has also been discontinued, and a hologram seal to distinguish counterfeit products was not attached, so it is not possible to confirm whether the product shipped from our company,” it said.

Icom added that all of its radios are made in Japan, and its export program is based on strict Japanese security and trade control regulations, adding to the questions of how the devices could have been tampered with.Attack ‘must be state-sponsored’: expert tells DW

Melinda Haas, a professor of international affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, told DW that there was no question the pager attacks on Hezbollah on Tuesday were state-sponsored.

“The assumption that this is a state-sponsored operation must be correct, given both the geographic extent, the technical sophistication and the orchestration of the explosions themselves, much less the sort of on-the-ground intelligence required to infiltrate multiple types of devices that that Hezbollah agents are using,” Haas said. 

Describing the attack as “unprecedented” but not surprising, she added, “The orchestration is meant to send a message: that its sponsor, probably Israel, is able to reach into Hezbollah’s organization, no matter what types of low tech devices are being used, and get to those people even on the ground.”