Early Wednesday, a Syrian national opened fire on the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, injuring an embassy guard and putting the region on high alert.
The attack on the U.S. embassy comes as Israel appears to be preparing action against Hezbollah, a terror organization housed in Lebanon and responsible for attacks on Israel in recent months. Lebanon has also been a frequent meeting place for Hamas leaders, though not always to their benefit.
News outlets are reporting that “no motive has been determined” in the attack.
More on the attack, via NBC News.
The Lebanese army said its forces responded to an attack at the U.S. embassy in Beirut Wednesday morning, firing back at a suspect who was taken to a local hospital with injuries. The U.S. embassy said “small arms fire” was reported just after 8:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET.) It said its team was safe thanks to the “quick reaction” of Lebanese forces and the embassy’s security team.
A local Lebanese guard was wounded in the incident and was receiving care, Sullivan said in his “TODAY” interview. A U.S. official told NBC News the the preliminary assessment was that the injury was minor.
The suspect’s identity and any possible motive were not immediately clear, with the Lebanese military describing them only as a Syrian national.
Lebanon’s official government decried the violence and condemned the attack on Wednesday.
“I condemn the attack that took place on the US Embassy in Beirut this morning,” Abdullah Bou Habib, the country’s foreign minister, said on Wednesday.
The continued volatility in the Middle East are proving to be problematic for the Biden administration, which is trying to navigate it without alienating supporters – many of whom have sided with Hamas and the Gazan people over Israel, which is the closest ally the U.S. has in the region.
