Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has called for an investigation into whether U.S. resources were used in the coordinated Israeli bombing of Hezbollah pagers.
“Israeli pager attack in Lebanon detonates thousands of mobile devices. [sic] “Multiple public shootings have taken place, leaving innocent civilians seriously injured and killed,” the progressive New Yorker wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“This attack is a clear violation of international humanitarian law and undermines U.S. efforts to prevent the escalation of the conflict. Congress demands a full accounting of the attack, including answers from the State Department about whether U.S. assistance was provided in the development or deployment of this technology.”
Israel's foreign intelligence service, Mossad, had planted explosives in 5,000 pagers imported by Hezbollah in the months before Tuesday and Wednesday's explosions, a senior defense official confirmed to Fox News.
US official says Israel was behind pager attacks in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah
“The United States has no knowledge of or involvement in these events,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters on Wednesday about the pager attacks.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is calling for an investigation into whether US resources were used in the coordinated Israeli bombing of Hezbollah pagers. (Jacek Bocharski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He then warned Israel against escalating the conflict.
“We have been clear and we will continue to be clear about the importance for all parties to avoid actions that would further escalate the conflict that we are trying to resolve in Gaza,” Blinken continued, “and it would clearly not be in the interest of all involved to see it spread to other fronts.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) withdrew two joint resolutions that would have blocked US arms sales to Israel.
Sanders said the Biden administration in August approved a series of arms sales to Israel totaling $20 billion, including “several systems directly linked to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip.”
Taiwanese company says exploded Hezbollah paging device was made in Hungary
“Congress must act to save lives, uphold U.S. and international law, and protect American interests. We must end our complicity in Israel's illegal and indiscriminate military campaign that has caused mass civilian death and suffering.”
Under Senate rules, Sanders could force a vote on the resolution as early as next week, which needs 51 votes to pass.
of Hezbollah supported by the Iranian regime Hezbollah has switched from cell phones to pagers to prevent Israeli eavesdropping on its communications. The day after the Gaza-based terrorist group invaded the Jewish state of Hamas on October 7, Hezbollah joined Hamas in its war against Israel.
A crowd gathers outside the American University Hospital following the arrival of several men injured by an exploding pager, Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Basam Masri)
Paramedics carry a man injured after his handheld pager exploded at Al Zahra Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, September 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Marra)
Synchronized pager explosions on Tuesday injured about 2,500 people and killed 12, and on Wednesday afternoon, walkie-talkie explosions belonging to Hezbollah members across Lebanon killed 14 people and injured hundreds more.
Hezbollah confirmed that eight of the 26 people killed in the two attacks were its members.
Hezbollah is estimated to have more than 150,000 missiles aimed at Israel. Hezbollah, Lebanon's de facto ruler, has accumulated advanced missiles, rockets and drones since the 2006 war with Israel. Hezbollah has fired more than 7,500 missiles, rockets and drones at Israel since October 8.
A Hezbollah official said the pager explosion was the result of the group's “The biggest security breach” Since the Gaza conflict began.
Hezbollah said in a statement on Wednesday that “today, as every other day, the resistance will continue its work in support of Gaza, its people and the resistance. This is in addition to the severe punishment that its criminal enemy (Israel) deserves for Tuesday's massacre.”
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Israel's Mossad has a worldwide reputation as one of the most feared intelligence agencies.
Some 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and 95,000 injured since the war began in October, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
Fox News' Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
