UN human rights chief says Hezbollah pager blasts could constitute a war crime

The United Nations on Friday denounced the detonation of hand-held devices used by members of the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon earlier this week, saying the attack violated international law and could constitute a war crime.

“International humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby-trap devices in the form of apparently harmless portable objects,” the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, tells the Security Council, adding that it “is a war crime to commit violence intended to spread terror among civilians.”

In an apparently coordinated attack on Tuesday, the Gold Apollo branded pagers used by Hezbollah detonated across Lebanon, killing 12 and wounding close to 3,000 people. A day later, hand-held radios exploded, killing 25 people and injuring at least 650.

The detonations have been blamed on Israel by Hezbollah and its backer Iran, although the country has stayed silent on the matter.

The detonating devices hit workers in Hezbollah’s institutions including its healthcare and media operations, as well as its fighters. It was not clear how many civilians without links to Hezbollah were hurt.