Re:ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods
by lobf on Thursday January 08, 2026 @04:03PM
(#46546435)
I mean, who else is using a pager in Lebanon? That's not a tool a normal consumer uses, it's only used by people to evade phone surveillance. I think it sounds like a high probability that anyone receiving one of these pages in Lebanon is part of Hezbollah.
Re:ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods
by embedding-shape on Thursday January 08, 2026 @04:09PM
(#46546505)
> I mean, who else is using a pager in Lebanon?
But they can impossibly actually know who physically has the pager next to them, when they're triggering them. This is the "failing to verify each target" part.
Re:ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods
by baggy_trough on Thursday January 08, 2026 @05:52PM
(#46547667)
That's not a very realistic standard for a wartime covert operation.
Re:ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods
by embedding-shape on Friday January 09, 2026 @04:52AM
(#46551996)
Maybe that's the wrong way to think about it? Maybe these "wartime covert operations" need to read up on Human Rights and figure out a way to work within it?
Re:ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods
by baggy_trough on Friday January 09, 2026 @10:55AM
(#46555170)
Sounds like a unilateral disarmament, which is not how to win a war. Hamas and the like have no concern with human rights of course.
Re:ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods
by hnaccount_rng on Friday January 09, 2026 @10:09AM
(#46554681)
I mean in the case in Lebanon they knew. They sold those pagers to Hezbollah.
> “To the extent that international humanitarian law applies, at the time of the attacks there was no way of knowing who possessed each device and who was nearby,” the experts said. “Simultaneous attacks by thousands of devices would inevitably violate humanitarian law, by failing to verify each target, and distinguish between protected civilians and those who could potentially be attacked for taking a direct part in hostilities."
> “Such attacks could constitute war crimes of murder, attacking civilians, and launching indiscriminate attacks, in addition to violating the right to life,” the experts said.
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/09/exploding-pa...