US Foreign Minister Blinken Warns Middle East Escalation Risks Of Explosions Thousands Of Pagers In Lebanon

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken / PHOTO via Instagram @secblinken

JAKARTA - United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned of the risk of escalation in the Middle East after the explosion of thousands of Lebanese Hezbollah pagers.

News of the explosion broke out as top US diplomats traveled to Cairo to meet with senior Egyptian officials in hopes of advancing efforts to ensure a ceasefire in Gaza and improving ties with Egypt.

The militant group Hezbollah vowed to retaliate against Israel, accusing Israel of blowing up pagers across Lebanon on Tuesday that killed 12 people, including two children, and injured nearly 3,000 people.

Israel refused to answer questions about the explosion.

When asked about the explosion, Blinken said the US was still gathering facts but had no interest if the conflict spread.

"It is very important for all parties to refrain from any action that could escalate the conflict," Blinken said.

He did not say who the US believed was behind the explosion.

Blinken said he was focused on reaching a ceasefire agreement that would bring peace, including on Israel's northern border with Lebanon, and 15 of the 18 paragraph deals had been approved by all parties.

"Making progress requires a long wait to convey a message between parties that leave time for incidents that disrupt the conversation," Blinken said.

We have seen that within this timeframe, you may experience an event, an incident something that makes the process even more difficult, which threatens to slow down, stop it, thwart it and things like that, by definition, are unacceptable. maybe not good at achieving the results we want, namely the ceasefire," Blinken said.

He gave an example of the execution of six Israeli hostages by Hamas last month. Blink did not name Israel, which is believed to have targeted members of groups opposing Israel in Lebanon, Syria, and Iran that have hindered negotiations.