US downplays ability to prevent escalation after Lebanon pager explosions

A person is carried on a stretcher outside the American University of Beirut Medical Center amid the pager explosions across Lebanon on September 17 [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]

Washington, DC – The United States has said it does not want to see further escalation between Israel and Hezbollah after the Lebanese armed group blamed Israel for a series of deadly, coordinated handheld pager blasts.

But the administration of US President Joe Biden, which remains Israel’s top military and diplomatic backer, on Tuesday also sought to downplay its ability to tamper tensions between the pair.