Democrats defend Israel's exploding pagers attack against Hezbollah after criticism from Rep. AOC

Democratic senators are expressing support for the exploding communications devices operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon, rejecting criticism from progressive lawmakers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Israel reportedly launched the operation, according to several sources, but the government has not officially confirmed the country’s involvement.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said the attack was a “creative way to go after” Hezbollah, a terrorist organization.

“Israel has a right to defend itself, and they’ve been attacked by Hezbollah, who by the way is supported by the Iranians, and they have a right to defend themselves,” Kelly said, according to a Jewish Insider report published on Friday. “I haven’t seen anything quite like this before, but I suspect there will be a response, and then the Israelis will have to respond.”

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, shared a similar view.

“For those of us who care about regional stability, we have to manage the risk of escalation, but for those of us who have been critical of the conduct of the war in terms of [there being] too high of a tolerance for civilian casualties, we should be a little cautious to criticize an operation this precise,” he said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the attack against Hezbollah seemed to be "extremely strategic” and "highly successful.” 

Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X that Israel’s “pager attack in Lebanon detonated thousands of handheld devices across of a slew of public spaces, seriously injuring and killing innocent civilians. This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict.”

She called for Congress to do a “full accounting of the attack, including an answer from the State Department as to whether any US assistance went into the development or deployment of this technology.”