A series of mysterious explosions targeting Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and Syria has left the Biden administration scrambling for information and denying any involvement.
According to Breitbart, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller and Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder stated that the U.S. had no prior knowledge of or participation in the attacks.
The incidents involved hundreds of pagers exploding simultaneously, reportedly in the possession of Hezbollah operatives, resulting in nine confirmed deaths, including a child, and over 2,700 injuries.
Among those injured was the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, suggesting a potential connection to Hezbollah's communication network. While Israel has been widely speculated as the source of the attacks, Israeli officials have not commented on the matter.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized the administration's lack of involvement and prior knowledge during a press briefing. He stated:
We are gathering information on this incident. I can tell you that the U.S. was not involved in it, the U.S. was not aware of this incident in advance.
Miller further explained that the State Department was collecting information in the same manner as journalists worldwide, implying that the Biden administration was not privy to any operations against Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon.
The Pentagon's response mirrored that of the State Department. Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder refused to provide detailed answers, maintaining that he had no information to offer reporters on the topic. He did, however, clarify that to his knowledge, no members of the Defense Department were currently using pagers.
The timing of these attacks is particularly significant, occurring just before Secretary of State Antony Blinken's expected arrival in Cairo, Egypt. Blinken's visit was intended to include meetings with senior government officials, focusing on diplomatic efforts to end the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Miller suggested it was too early to determine if the pager incident would impact attempts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He noted the complexity of the situation, acknowledging Hezbollah's terror campaign against northern Israel while also drawing attention to the displacement of both Israeli and Lebanese families due to the conflict.
The State Department spokesman emphasized the need for a diplomatic solution, stating that a military conflict would make it difficult for displaced families on either side of the border to return home quickly. He also insisted that resolving Hezbollah's campaign against northern Israel would be challenging without also ending the war on Hamas.
The apparent lack of U.S. involvement or prior knowledge of the attacks has raised questions about the Biden administration's influence in the region. When asked if the State Department still believed it could limit the scale of the conflict, Miller defended the administration's involvement as a matter of responsibility as a world power rather than due to its alliance with Israel.
Miller offered little clarity on why Secretary Blinken was traveling to Egypt without scheduled stops in Israel, only stating that no ceasefire proposal was ready to present to Israel at this point. This lack of clear direction echoes the administration's similar distancing from the killing of Hamas "political" chief Ismail Haniyeh in July 2024.
The pager attacks in Lebanon and Syria have caught the Biden administration off guard, with officials denying any prior knowledge or involvement. The incidents resulted in nine deaths and over 2,700 injuries, including the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon. State Department and Pentagon spokespeople emphasized that the U.S. is still gathering information on the events. The timing of these attacks, just before Secretary Blinken's visit to Cairo, has raised questions about the administration's influence in the region and its ability to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
