Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. did not know about and was not involved in a wave of exploding pagers targeting Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon, and urged restraint among all parties to avoid escalating further conflict in the Middle East.
“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 a press conference alongside his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty.
His remarks came following the death of at least 12 people, reportedly including two children, and about 2,800 injuries caused by pagers used by Hezbollah operatives exploding over a one-hour period Tuesday. The U.S.-designated terrorist group has blamed Israel for the attack, but the Israeli military has declined to comment.
“I can’t tell you, in this moment, what impact it will have. I certainly can’t speak to what impact it …