Beirut: Lebanon witnessed a horrific scene this week after Hezbollah members were targeted with explosions in pagers, walkie-talkies and other equipment. However, analysts say that despite this attack, Hezbollah will be able to regroup and establish communication but the psychological impact of the incident will be deep. Israel is being blamed for these blasts. However, Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the incident. At least 37 people, including two children, were killed in these attacks while more than 3,000 people were injured.
'It will take time to recover'
Retired Lebanese army Gen. Elias Hanna called the attacks “Pearl Harbor or 9/11 for Hezbollah.” Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank, said that because the blasts affected people from various institutions of the group, the attack was like a “dagger in the chest of the organization.” Ali has studied Hezbollah extensively. “It will take time to recover and new recruits will be brought in to replace those who were targeted,” he said. However, Hage Ali and other analysts agree that the loss of fighters is not a major setback.
'Non-combatant members were targeted'
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said the group's fighting force numbers more than 100,000. Qassim Kassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said the explosive devices actually targeted mostly non-combatant members of the group, not fighters or security officials. Analysts say the impact of the attack on Hezbollah's communications network could be even more devastating than the human losses. “Telecommunications is the basis of military operations and communications. Delays in communications can be disastrous,” said Naji Maleb, a retired Lebanese army general and security expert.
Hezbollah
'Psychological damage'
Orna Mizrahi, a former intelligence analyst for the Israeli military and prime minister's office and a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv-based think tank, said the loss of the ability to communicate via pagers was a “dramatic setback” but the militant group has other communication methods and will rebuild its communications network. She said Hezbollah has suffered the most psychological damage. (AP)
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