Israel's ongoing war with terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah has led to conflict between the Biden administration and progressive Democrats who say it has not done enough to challenge the Jewish state.

Those fault lines may deepen further after New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez voiced outrage over a recent strike in Lebanon even as the White House denied involvement. 

Thirty-seven people killed, over 3000 injured

According to the New York Post, Ocasio-Cortez took to social media on Wednesday and denounced Israel for causing thousands of pagers to explode as they were being worn by Hezbollah members.

Fox News reported that hundreds of AR-924 pagers that are sold by the Taiwanese firm Gold Apollo blew up simultaneously on Tuesday.

That incident was followed by a second wave of explosions, this time involving counterfeit versions of a walkie-talkie sold by the Japanese company Icom.

Fox News noted that the two strikes killed a combined total of 37 people, including at least two children. Meanwhile, Lebanon's Health Ministry indicated that another 3,000 were left injured.

Congresswoman demands answers from State Department

Ocasio-Cortez complained on X that "Israel's pager attack in Lebanon detonated thousands of handheld devices across a slew of public spaces, seriously injuring and killing innocent civilians."

Israel’s pager attack in Lebanon detonated thousands of handheld devices across of a slew of public spaces, seriously injuring and killing innocent civilians.

This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a…

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 18, 2024

"This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict," she continued.

"Congress needs a full accounting of the attack, including an answer from the State Department as to whether any US assistance went into the development or deployment of this technology," the Democratic lawmaker went on to declare.

U.S. played no part in explosions

The Post reported that for his part, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference in Egypt that the United States played no part in this week's events.

"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 was quoted as saying.

"We've been very clear and we remain very clear about the importance of all parties avoiding any steps that could further escalate the conflict that we’re trying to resolve in Gaza," he insisted.