The United States stated on Tuesday (September 17) that it is collecting information on the explosion incident in Lebanon. On that day, pagers used by members of Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded simultaneously, resulting in at least 9 deaths and around 2,800 injuries.
According to a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Matthew Miller, during a routine press briefing, the U.S. was not involved in the incident and is unclear about who is responsible. Hezbollah in Lebanon has threatened to retaliate against Israel.
Miller stated, “We are collecting information regarding the incident. I can tell you that the U.S. was not involved and did not have prior knowledge.”
“We are gathering information in the same way as global journalists to understand the potential facts,” Miller added.
According to the Lebanese Minister of Health, both Hezbollah and Lebanon have accused Israel of launching the attack, resulting in around 2,800 injuries and at least 9 deaths. The Israeli Defense Forces have not commented on the situation.
Miller refused to disclose the information currently held by the U.S. and declined to comment on whether the U.S. is evaluating Israel’s responsibility. He said, “I do not have any assessment to provide at this time.”
According to CNN, Hezbollah in Lebanon has recently been considering using “low-tech” devices like pagers to prevent assassinations.
In response to questions from reporters, Miller stated that the U.S. is always concerned about events that may escalate tensions in the Middle East and urges Iran, which supports Hezbollah and Hamas, not to exploit any events to exacerbate instability.
Reports suggest that the Iranian ambassador was injured in the explosion. When asked if there are signs indicating Iran may retaliate, Miller stated he does not want to speculate until the reports are confirmed.
“I have seen those reports. I do not want to discuss potential implications until they are confirmed. However, as always, we will urge Iran not to exploit any events or instability to further escalate tensions and increase instability in the region,” he said, reiterating the message conveyed to Iran by the U.S. since October 7 last year.
Miller emphasized that the U.S. believes a diplomatic solution must be sought for the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah and highlighted the importance of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in promoting diplomatic resolutions.
Miller did not reveal how the U.S. views the impact of the attack on ceasefire negotiations and whether the U.S. has engaged in dialogue with Israeli or Lebanese officials.
“I do not want to speculate on what we will say in the coming days,” he stated, stressing that no actions should target civilians.
The explosion of the pagers has exacerbated hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. Since the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 and the subsequent Gaza War, tensions in the region have continued to escalate.
A Lebanese security source informed CNN that the exploded pagers were new and purchased by Hezbollah in the past few months.
The source did not provide the specific purchase date or model of the pagers.
Lebanese journalist and writer for The Atlantic, Kim Ghattas, told CNN that Hezbollah has been considering turning to “low-tech” means to prevent further assassinations.
“They have been targets for assassination over the past 10 months. They were instructed to get rid of iPhones, stay away from the internet, and disconnect from CCTV cameras,” Ghattas informed CNN.
Following the explosion of the pagers, Hamas expressed solidarity with Hezbollah and the people of Lebanon. The organization released a statement blaming Israel for the explosion.
The Israeli military earlier indicated that they would not comment on the incident. However, the Israeli Defense Forces stated that there is no change in their advice for civilian safety.
“The IDF spokesperson clarifies that there is currently no change in the defense guidance of the Home Front Command. The public is asked to stay vigilant, and any policy changes will be updated immediately,” the IDF said in its first statement following the explosion event.
Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi conducted a situational assessment on Tuesday evening. He emphasized, “Focus is on readiness in all battle fronts.”
Experts have put forth two theories explaining why hundreds of pagers would explode simultaneously.
The first theory suggests it could be due to network security vulnerabilities leading to overheating of the pagers’ lithium batteries and causing explosions.
The second theory posits a “supply chain attack,” where the configuration of the pagers was tampered with during manufacturing and transportation.
Former NSA intelligence analyst David Kennedy told CNN that the explosion seen in the videos shared online appears “too massive to just be a remote hack attack causing an overload of the pagers and triggering lithium battery explosions.”
Kennedy believes the second theory is more plausible.
“The complexity required to achieve this is astounding. It would necessitate many different intelligence components and execution,” he added, noting that human intelligence (HUMINT) would be key to making such modifications to the pagers by intercepting the supply chain.