US says it wasn’t involved in or tipped off about Hezbollah pager detonations
Administration says it’s still gathering info, largely refrains from commenting on explosion of beepers belonging to terror operatives in Lebanon
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The Biden administration largely avoided commenting on Tuesday’s mass detonation of pagers belonging to Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, while stressing the US was not involved and had no advance knowledge of the operation, which was widely attributed to Israel.
“The US was not involved in it. The US was not aware of this incident in advance, and at this point, we’re gathering information,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing.
“We’re collecting information in the same way that journalists are across the world to gather the facts about what might have happened,” he added.
His comments were echoed by spokespeople at the White House and the Pentagon, who also reiterated the longstanding US stance in favor of a diplomatic resolution to Israel-Hezbollah tensions.
According to Axios, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin minutes before the attack to say that Israel was about to carry out an operation in Lebanon, but did not give specifics. It cited a US official saying Gallant’s phone call was an attempt to avoid leaving the US completely in the dark.
Nine people were killed and 2,750 more were injured in the blasts, including some 200 people in critical condition, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Also reported among the dead were the son of a Hezbollah lawmaker and the 10-year-old daughter of a member of the terror group. Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was lightly injured by an exploding pager, Iran’s state-run media said.
Detonations were also triggered in Syria where seven more people were killed, according to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Saberin News.
It appeared to be the most significant attack in Lebanon amid the cross-border skirmishes that have occurred almost daily since the Iran-backed terror group began targeting Israel following Hamas’s October 7 onslaught.
Hezbollah blamed Israel for Tuesday’s explosions and vowed to retaliate.
Israel has avoided commenting publicly, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party directed lawmakers not to take any interview requests after a faction spokesperson published and then quickly deleted a post on X suggesting Israeli responsibility for the blasts.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called developments in Lebanon very concerning, especially given the “extremely volatile” context, adding that the United Nations deplores any civilian casualties.
Lebanon’s foreign ministry said it began “preparing a complaint to submit to the United Nations Security Council” and blamed Israel for the operation.
The blasts came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was en route to Egypt, where among other issues the State Department said he would be advancing efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas.
The US has argued that an end to the war in Gaza would be the surest way to restore calm between Israel and Hezbollah, citing the terror group’s assertions that it would halt its fire once the IDF does the same in the Strip.
Notably, Blinken was not scheduled to visit Israel, as he has done during every other trip to the region since October 7. Optimism about a ceasefire deal has waned, with the administration reportedly considering a new framework after repeated efforts to finalize a phased end to the war have failed to bear fruit.
A week ago, Blinken said the US would unveil an updated ceasefire proposal “very soon,” but Miller on Tuesday declined to put a timetable on when that might be.
The State Department spokesperson did argue, however, that there was no reason to assume the blasts in Lebanon would impact the hostage talks.
Later Tuesday, Austin held a phone call with Gallant, a source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel. Neither office immediately issued a statement on the call.
On Monday, the Biden administration’s special envoy Amos Hochstein met with Netanyahu and Gallant in Israel, warning them against launching a major offensive against Hezbollah. A US official said Hochstein argued that a major IDF attack risked a regional war and would not restore the sense of security that would allow the roughly 60,000 evacuated Israeli civilians to return to their homes near the northern border.
Gallant countered by telling Hochstein that only military action would allow for Israelis in the north to return to their homes, according to a readout issued by his office. Netanyahu told the Biden envoy that Israel appreciates US support but will do what is necessary to restore security for its citizens.
Hours after those meetings, the Israeli security cabinet added a new objective to its aims for the war in Gaza: “The safe return of the residents of the north to their homes.”
