Following Hizbullah Pager Explosions, Arabs On Social Media Slam The Organization And Celebrate Its Misfortune

The September 17, 2024 pager attack on Hizbullah, in which thousands of devices belonging to the organization’s operatives exploded simultaneously, killing about ten operatives and wounding some 4,000, sparked many reactions from Arab users on X. Most of the posts mocked Hizbullah and expressed satisfaction at its misfortune, along with wonder at the sophistication of the Israel-attributed operation. Other posts expressed anger at Hizbullah supporters who called to avoid sharing videos of people wounded in the attack, and at Hizbullah and its supporters for expecting sympathy and solidarity from the Arab world. Hizbullah’s operatives, they said, are murderers and criminals responsible for the death of many Arabs and for the destruction of Lebanon, so they should not expect sympathy.

The following is a sampling of these posts:

Mockery Of Hizbullah And Glee At Its Plight

Saudi journalist Fahd Deepaji shared a cartoon mocking Hizbullah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and commented: “The pager war has achieved its goals [laughing emoji].”[1]

In another post, Deepaji shared an image of Houthi leader Abdulmalik Badreddine Al-Houthi, with a caption reading: “The pagers are dead; let’s start using cups [i.e. string phones].”[2]

Syrian-Kurdish cartoonist Dijwar Ibrahim also published a cartoon mocking Hizbullah. It depicts two Hizbullah operatives casting fearful looks at a pile of walkie talkies while communicating on a string phone.[3]

Lebanese social media user Raymond Hakim, who is known for his opposition to Hizbullah, shared another graphic mocking Hizbullah over the attack.[4]

Dalia Ziada, a U.S.-based Egyptian liberal writer, executive director of the MEEM Center for Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean Studies, shared a photo of a pager with a message reading: “72 virgins,” a reference to the traditional Islamic belief that martyrs wed 72 virgins upon arriving in Paradise.[5]

Saudi social media user Meshal Al-Khaldi shared a short video of a military parade held by amputees walking with crutches, and commented: “Hizbullah’s next military parade.”[6]

Senior Saudi journalist Tariq Al-Homayed mocked Hizbullah, writing: “The pager attack was an act of intimidation  [that places you] in a most ludicrous [light] from a military, security, and political perspective!”[7] In another post he wrote, “A truly thrilling operation and an astonishing indication of the scope of Israel’s infiltration of Hizbullah.”[8]

Saudi researcher Dr. Kassab Al-Otaibi wrote: “Israel hunts Hizbullah’s crows in a dramatic way that could be a movie… Their heads, stomachs and buttocks exploded, and tomorrow Hizbullah will kill some chickens as revenge for today’s horrible massacres!”[9] (The reference is to Hizbullah’s attack on northern Israel in revenge for the assassination of Hizbullah military chief Fuad Shukr, which reportedly did nothing more than damage several chicken coops, and therefore likewise sparked criticism and mockery on social media).

Saudi journalist Saeed Al-Naji shared a photo of a pager with a message on its screen, reading: “The number you are trying to reach exploded a few minutes ago, please do not try to call again.”[10]

No Solidarity With Those Who Killed Women And Children In Syria And Iraq And Blew Up The Port Of Beirut

A video posted by Shi’ite Lebanese journalist Hussein Murtada, who is identified with Hizbullah, in which he urged social media users not to disseminate clips of those harmed and injured by the pager attacks, generated negative and mocking responses.[11]

Saudi journalist Ibrahim Al-Suleiman wrote, “They are hurting, crying and demanding not to circulate the videos that show the state of the rats of the axis of resistance!! They were always proud to publish videos of Syrians and Iraqis being tortured: burned alive, beheaded and abused – yet now they beg for mercy, the sons of Satan.”[12]

Saudi petroleum engineer Dr. Mansour Al-Malik wrote, “We must always remember that the operatives of the Party of Satan [a play on the name Hizbullah, which means “Party of God”]  who were injured are the same people who murdered the children of Syria and helped the Houthis launch missiles at Saudi Arabia.”[13] In another post he wrote, “All of a sudden, the Lebanese people are meant to feel sorrow and to make sacrifices for Hizbullah operatives. [This is the same] Hizbullah that blew up the Port of Beirut, raided Beirut [itself] and assassinated the martyr, [former Lebanese prime minister] Rafiq Al-Hariri and several of Lebanon’s freedom-lovers.  Hizbullah that expelled the Lebanese, destroyed the country’s economy and stole its resources. Strange logic.”[14]

In a third post, Al-Malik wrote: “Suddenly they [Hizbullah and its supporters] have human feelings and disapprove of displays of schadenfreude. Where were these feelings when Iraqis were murdered for their [national] identity [and] when a million Syrians, most of them children, were killed by chemical weapons and barrel bombs? Where were your feelings when children and adults were killed in the Beirut Port blast? Don’t try to fool us with your phony emotions. You are murderers and criminals.”[15]

Syrian journalist Alia Mansour, affiliated with the Syrian opposition, wrote: “ …Today I heard journalists and political analysts in Lebanon talking about the [pager explosions] in terms of an attack on civilians and a crime against humanity… Can’t you settle [your differences] with Hizbullah without lying?[16] In a separate post she wrote: “A civilian with [only] a few dollars in his pocket would never think of buying a pager, certainly not the kind that was targeted. These are Hizbullah operatives, and if you want to condemn the attack on them, do so without lying [and calling it an attack on civilians].”[17]