Antony Blinken: US not involved with exploring Hezbollah pagers

U.S. Secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said that the United States was not involved with the exploded Hezbollah pagers. Blinken also said that the United States did not have any prior knowledge of the event. From the U.S. perspective, information is still being gathered. The accusations flying around involving this event may increase the challenges that must be dealt with to get a Gaza cease-fire agreement.

From The Epoch Times:

Speaking at a news conference in Cairo alongside Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Blinken addressed the Sept. 17 attack in Lebanon, which involved a wave of explosions of personal pagers used by Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist group.

“With regard to Lebanon, the United States did not know about, nor was it involved in, these incidents. We’re still gathering the information, gathering the facts,” Blinken said during the news conference.

Hezbollah has blamed Israel for the attack, calling it an act of “criminal aggression” that also targeted civilians and vowing “punishment.”

Israel has not publicly addressed the matter or claimed responsibility.

Blinken said on Sept. 18 that the exploding devices in Lebanon threaten to derail a potential agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt the war in Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages.

“Time and again,” when the United States and other mediators believe that they are making progress on a cease-fire deal in Gaza, an event has occurred that “threatens to slow it, stop it, derail it,” he said.

Egypt’s foreign minister echoed that sentiment, saying the incident not only hinders current talks, but “also risks getting into a full-scale war.”

Also casting a shadow over the cease-fire talks is the discovery of the bodies of six hostages who Israel said had been recently killed by Hamas, according to Blinken.

The U.S. official said negotiators were making progress in talks that would have freed the remaining captives in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

“We are working together with the Qataris in order to reach an immediate cease-fire within a deal which will secure the release of all the hostages and the prisoners from the Palestinian side and also to allow important deliveries of humanitarian and medical aid to the people in Gaza,” Blinken told reporters.

Additional Reading:

Ozimek, T. (2024, September 18). Blinken says US not involved in Hezbollah pager attacks, urges restraint amid cease-fire talks. The Epoch Times. Link.

Category: International Affairs, Middle East, Terror War