In the wake of explosions targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, liberal nations are hesitating to take a definitive stance on the matter.
According to Yonhap News, John Kirby, the U.S. National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, sought to distance the U.S. from the incidents during a briefing on Wednesday. He stated that he “has nothing more to share today” and emphasized that the U.S. was not involved in the previous day’s events or that day in any capacity. Kirby declined to provide additional details about the situation.
He maintained a cautious defense of Israel, which has been implicated in the explosions. When asked if the U.S. had received any prior warnings from Israel about potential attacks on Lebanon, he stated that he was unaware of any such events occurring.
Kirby acknowledged Israel’s right to self-defense but emphasized that “How they do so matters to us,” reiterating the importance of dialogue with Israel. He asserted that diplomacy is crucial to prevent further escalation in Lebanon and pledged continued efforts to resolve the conflict through negotiations.
However, Kirby admitted that it was too early to determine the impact of the incident on ceasefire negotiations, lamenting that there had been no progress toward a ceasefire agreement compared to the previous week.
Concerns regarding a potential Israeli invasion of Lebanon have intensified within the U.S. government. The Wall Street Journal reported that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised these concerns during a high-level Pentagon meeting just before the attack on Monday. It noted that anxiety has only grown since then.
The United Nations has also expressed apprehension about the incidents, particularly regarding the risk to civilians. UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “It’s very important that there is an effective control of civilian objects, not to weaponize civilian objects,” urging that all necessary measures be taken to avoid escalating tensions.
The origins of the pagers and walkie-talkies used in the attacks have sparked significant international debate. A pager found at the scene bore a sticker from Taiwanese company Gold Apollo. In response, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the company did not directly export wireless pagers to Lebanon and assured that there is no associated risk from devices exported from Taiwan.
Taiwan’s National Security Bureau reported attempts to link this incident to Taiwan, warning of misinformation aimed at undermining national security through overseas cognitive warfare. They noted that the posts involved are related to anti-Western, anti-democratic, and Chinese propaganda.
Gold Apollo claimed that BAC Consulting KFT, based in Budapest, held the rights to manufacture the devices under its trademark. However, the Hungarian government disputed this, stating that BAC is merely a trading intermediary without manufacturing capabilities and affirming, “The devices in question have never been in Hungary.”
Reports also indicate that a walkie-talkie found at the scene was labeled by the Japanese telecommunications manufacturer ICOM. However, ICOM distanced itself from the exploded device, suggesting it might be counterfeit and stating that it would verify the facts surrounding the incident.
According to Japan’s Jiji Press, ICOM noted that the devices mentioned in the reports lacked the hologram that signifies authenticity. They added, “There have been instances of counterfeits circulating in large quantities, so we believe this is a fake.” ICOM emphasized that their products have included holograms since August 2013 to combat counterfeiting, and they halted shipments in 2014.
Despite these claims, Enomoto Yoshiki, head of ICOM’s Safety Assurance Trade Division, acknowledged to Kyodo News that while there is a possibility of a counterfeit, the item in question could also be a genuine ICOM product. He explained that if it is authentic, it would be the IC-V82 model.
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