Ambassador: US Embassy in Lebanon ‘Not Intimidated’ by Shots Fired Towards it

Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)
Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)
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Ambassador: US Embassy in Lebanon ‘Not Intimidated’ by Shots Fired Towards it

Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)
Dorothy Shea, US ambassador to Lebanon, meets with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, in Beirut, Lebanon, in this handout released on September 22, 2023. (Dalati & Nohra)

US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Friday said the embassy was "not intimidated" by a gunman's shots towards its entrance earlier this week and that Lebanese authorities were investigating the incident.

Late Wednesday, shots were fired near the US embassy north of Beirut. Embassy spokesperson Jake Nelson said no one had been hurt and normal business operations were ongoing.

"We know that authorities are investigating this incident, whereby a gunman fired shots toward the US embassy the other night," Shea said on Friday after meeting Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati.

"Please know that we at the US embassy are not intimidated by this incident, and our security protocols are very strong and our partnerships are ironclad," she said.

Mikati also condemned what he described as an "attack on the American embassy". There was no claim of responsibility for the gunfire and authorities have not provided details on the investigation.

The highly secured US embassy lies north of Beirut in the town of Awkar. Security incidents around it are rare. The embassy moved there from Beirut following a suicide attack in 1983 which killed more than 60 people.



Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Netanyahu Says Israel Won't Stop Striking Hezbollah

Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanese army soldiers and residents stand in front of a damaged building in the southern suburb of Beirut following an Israeli raid, in Beirut, Lebanon, 26 September 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel is striking Lebanon’s Hezbollah “with full force” and won’t stop until its goals are achieved.

Netanyahu spoke as he landed in New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meeting and as US, European and some Arab officials were pressing for a 21-day halt in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah to give time for negotiations.

Netanyahu said Israel’s “policy is clear. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes.”

He added that he approved the “targeted killing operation” of the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit in south Beirut Thursday.

Israel has dramatically escalated strikes in Lebanon this week, saying it is targeting Hezbollah. Israeli leaders have said they are determined to stop more than 11 months of cross-border fire by the group into Israel, which has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of Israelis from communities in the north.