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Lebanon filed a complaint against Israel at the U.N.’s labor organization over the string of deadly attacks involving exploding pagers, saying workers were among those killed and injured, a Lebanese government minister said Wednesday.

The wave of remotely triggered explosions that hit pagers and walkie-talkies carried by Hezbollah members in mid-September were widely blamed on Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

The blasts which went off in grocery stores, homes, and on streets killed at least 37 people, including two children, and wounded around 3,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities, deeply unsettling even Lebanese who have no Hezbollah affiliation.


  Lebanon (Lebanon Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram above) filed a complaint against Israel at the U.N.’s labor organization over the string of deadly attacks involving exploding pagers. AFP via Getty Images Lebanon (Lebanon Labor Minister Mustafa Bayram above) filed a complaint against Israel at the U.N.’s labor organization over the string of deadly attacks involving exploding pagers. AFP via Getty Images

  Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) in Geneva Salim Baddoura speaks during a press conference after filing the complaint. AFP via Getty Images Lebanon’s ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.) in Geneva Salim Baddoura speaks during a press conference after filing the complaint. AFP via Getty Images

In addition to fighters, the detonating devices hit workers in Hezbollah’s civilian institutions, including its health care and media operations.

Lebanese Labor Minister Moustafa Bayram and other officials said he traveled to Geneva and formally filed the complaint Tuesday against Israel at the International Labor Organization, a sprawling U.N. agency that brings together governments, businesses, and workers.

This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” he told reporters at the U.N. compound in Geneva.

“It’s a very dangerous precedent, if not condemned,” he said. “We are in a situation where ordinary objects — objects used in daily life — become dangerous and lethal.”


  The blasts which went off in grocery stores, homes, and on streets killed at least 37 people, including two children, and wounded around 3,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities. Abaca Press/INSTARimages The blasts which went off in grocery stores, homes, and on streets killed at least 37 people, including two children, and wounded around 3,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities. Abaca Press/INSTARimages


  “This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” Bayram (center) told reporters at the U.N. compound in Geneva. AFP via Getty Images “This method of warfare and conflicts may open the way for many who are evading international humanitarian law to adopt this method of warfare,” Bayram (center) told reporters at the U.N. compound in Geneva. AFP via Getty Images

Speaking in Arabic, Bayram insisted that ILO conventions guarantee the safety and security of workers, who “were in their workplace and had their pagers or walkies-talkies exploding all of a sudden,” according to an interpreter.

“I do not know where the outcome (of the complaint) will go, but at least we raised our voices to say and warn against this dangerous approach that strikes at human relations and leads to more conflicts,” he added.

An ILO spokeswoman said she was not immediately aware of the complaint or what redress might be possible through it.

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