Several statements were made on Wednesday, 24 hours after the simultaneous explosion of hundreds of pagers imported by Hezbollah, in an incident that was attributed to Israel.
“The United States was not aware of the recent attack in Lebanon,” according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who added that “everyone should avoid taking steps that would escalate the conflict.”
“We are still gathering information on the incident,” he indicated.
In parallel, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai expressed his “pain over the catastrophe that affected nearly three thousand Lebanese citizens, some of whom died and others are in critical condition.”
According to a statement issued by the Secretariat of the Maronite Patriarchate, Rai condemned this attack which “utilized communication means to kill indiscriminately.”
Former MP Fares Souaid emphasized that the “balance of terror which protected Lebanon by Hezbollah’s weapons ended as a high-tech warfare tilted the balance in Israel’s favor.”
“The presence of a pager device in the Iranian ambassador’s pocket is a scandal, which suggests that he is the one running the operations,” Souaid said, affirming that this “puts to rest all the rumors that there is an Iranian occupation of Lebanon.”
For his part, Former Prime Minister Tamam Salam considered it “a tragedy befallen on Lebanon resulting from a barbaric crime carried out by Israel which claimed the lives of nine persons and many were wounded.”
Moreover, the Renewal bloc stated that “this ordeal should be a serious occasion for Lebanese solidarity.” In a statement, the bloc asserted that “it is time to halt this senseless war and address the pain that affects our children.”
