UPDATE - US' Blinken calls for restraint after Lebanon pager explosions

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for restraint on Wednesday following pager explosions that killed at least 12 people and injured nearly 2,800 others in Lebanon.

Speaking at a press conference in Egypt, Blinken stressed the need to "avoid taking steps that could further escalate conflict" between Israel and the Hezbollah group.

The top diplomat said the US is still gathering information on what happened in Lebanon.

"It's important to fully understand what happened there," Blinken added.

The pagers, wireless telecommunications devices, exploded Tuesday in several areas in Lebanon, including the capital Beirut, which Lebanese media suggested was an Israeli breach of the system.

Lebanese security sources said that Israel’s spy agency Mossad planted explosives inside the pagers used by Hezbollah members months before they exploded.

The wireless devices “were rigged with several grams of hard-to-detect explosives, placed in the battery in a way that ensures they can’t be detected by sensors or any explosive detection tools,” Mounir Shehada, the Lebanese government’s former coordinator with the UN peacekeeping mission UNIFIL, told Anadolu.

Hadi Hachem, Lebanon's ambassador to the United Nations, called the pager blasts an "aggression which rises to a war crime,” warning that it would exacerbate the conflict.

There was no comment from Israel on the pager blasts, but Hezbollah vowed to retaliate against Tel Aviv following the explosions.

The pager blasts came amid mounting border escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, which have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Tel Aviv’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7.

- Gaza cease-fire efforts

Blinken said a cease-fire between Israel and the Hamas group in Gaza would be the best way to stop violence from spreading in the Middle East.

"We all know that a cease-fire is the best chance to tackle the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to address risks to regional stability," he said.

"We need to see a demonstration of political will from both Israel and Hamas" to reach an agreement, Blinken added.

For months, the US, Egypt, and Qatar have been trying to reach an agreement between Israel and Hamas to ensure a prisoner exchange and a cease-fire and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. But mediation efforts have been stalled due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to meet Hamas’ demands to stop the war.

Flouting calls by the UN Security Council for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel also faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

- More aid to Egypt

The chief US diplomat also announced new funding worth $129 million to Egypt.

Blinken said the funding will go for "hundreds of higher education scholarships, to encouraging entrepreneurship and ... to improve health" in Egypt.

Last week, the State Department announced that the US would give Egypt its full annual allocation of $1.3 billion, marking the first time the administration of President Joe Biden has offered Egypt the grant in full.

Turning to war-torn Sudan, Blinken also said a meeting with US partners will take place next week at the UN in New York on "steps to expand humanitarian access, protect civilians," and push to end hostilities in Sudan.

His announcement came after Biden on Tuesday called on the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group to re-engage in negotiations to end the conflict in Sudan that has raging since last April.

More than 20,000 people have since been killed and nearly 10 million displaced by the conflict, according to UN figures.

There are growing calls by the international community and the UN to end the war in Sudan to prevent a humanitarian disaster that is pushing millions towards famine and death due to food shortages caused by the fighting, which has spread to 13 out of the country’s 18 states.