AOC accuses Israel of violating international law after attack targeting Hezbollah kills children
Progressive “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez whined about the pager attack targeting Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists — and accused Israel of “unequivocally” violating international law.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) demanded a “full accounting of the attack” Wednesday, including a probe into whether the US was involved, after a highly-coordinated operation detonated thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
The blasts killed at least 12 people, including two young children, and wounded nearly 3,000, according to Lebanese authorities.
The majority of those hit were members or linked to members of Hezbollah.
“Israel’s pager attack in Lebanon detonated thousands of handheld devices across of a slew of public spaces, seriously injuring and killing innocent civilians,” the Queens and Bronx congresswoman seethed on X.
“This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict.”
Israel has so far declined to comment on the explosions, however, multiple US officials have privately told reporters that the Jewish State was responsible for the sophisticated act of sabotage.
Israeli spy agency Mossad is believed to have intercepted the shipment of pagers from Taiwan roughly five months ago and rigged them with pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN), the Times of Israel reported.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted Tuesday that Washington was not involved.
“With regard to Lebanon, the United States did not know about nor was it involved in these incidents. We’re still gathering the information, gathering the facts,” Blinken said during a press conference in Egypt.
“We’ve been very clear and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza.”
Blinken trekked to Egypt amid the administration’s latest effort to lock down a ceasefire agreement in the Israel-Hamas war.
Hezbollah is designated a terrorist organization by the US government and is believed to have tens of thousands of rockets in its arsenal, raising concerns that the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict could spiral into a broader war if the group were to get involved.
Videos uploaded to social media of the attack show several incidents in which seemingly unaware terrorists had devices in their pockets blow up, with the victims crying in pain as bystanders ran away.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah was battered by another wave of beeper blasts, this time by walkie-talkies used by the terror group in an attack that killed 14 and injured over 450, per initial estimates.
Some of those explosions are believed to have been even more powerful than the ones that detonated Tuesday.
It’s not entirely clear how Hezbollah intends to respond to the explosions, which appear to have exposed the identities of scores of their operatives and allies.
One Hezbollah official anonymously told Reuters it was the “biggest security breach” since the terror group unleashed its flurry of sporadic attacks against Israel in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Ocasio-Cortez has long been fiercely critical of Israel, having accused the US ally of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
She has faced pressure from her far-left flank to be even more forceful against Israel, having previously been hounded by anti-Israel hecklers.
The progressive darling’s criticism of Israel drew fierce blowback.
“[AOC’s] first-ever post about Hezbollah is to condemn Israel for killing Hezbollah terrorists. Not a word about 8,500 rockets since October 8. Not a word about 12 Israeli kids killed playing on a soccer field. Not a word about Iran funding and arming Hezbollah. Revealing,” the American Israel Public Affairs Committee posted on X.
“Retaliating against terrorists is not against the law. Save this energy for the hostages, especially the infant babies still being held by Hamas. Because I’m sure that is actually the war crimes,” conservative pundit Meghan McCain shot back.
“It’s the most targeted anti-terror strike in human history. But sure, go on with your pro-Hezbollah propaganda efforts. After all, some of your friends had a rough day,” podcaster Ben Shapiro chided.
“So you criticize Israel when they bomb terrorists in Gaza hiding behind civilians. And you criticize Israel when they eliminate terrorists in the most exquisite, discreet anti terror operation in history — which eliminated only terrorists using Hizbollah pagers,” conservative commentator Marc Thiessen chimed in.
“Tell us how exactly you’d like Israel to kill terrorists? The answer is: you don’t.”
The Post contacted reps for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Vice President Kamala Harris for comment.
Back in June, Ocasio-Cortez hosted a panel to discuss the rise of anti-Semitism and conferred with Jewish leaders.
Strife over the Israel-Hamas war has roiled the Democratic Party and fueled primary contests that led to fellow “Squad” Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) getting defeated in their re-election bids.
