Blinken calls for calm in Lebanon after attacks on Hezbollah-linked devices

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Attends a meeting with European foreign ministers to discuss the situation in the region

September 19 (EUROPA PRESS) –

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called for calm in Lebanon following attacks in recent hours on pagers and other communication devices linked to the Shiite militia-party Hezbollah.

“We do not want to see any escalation of actions by any of the actors,” he said at a press conference in Paris together with the French Foreign Minister, Stéphane Séjourné, according to the American channel .

He also stressed that the Biden administration is working to achieve a “diplomatic solution” to the tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, while also saying that he hopes that populations on both sides of the border can return to their homes.

The US Secretary of State, who is scheduled to meet President Emmanuel Macron, has travelled to France to take part in a summit on the Middle East with European foreign ministers, including Séjourné, Italy’s Antonio Tajani, Britain’s David Lammy and Germany’s Annalena Baerbock.

“The Paris meeting will provide an opportunity to assess the progress made in the ceasefire negotiations in Gaza and to discuss ways to try to avoid further regional escalation, also in light of recent developments in Lebanon,” the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

More than thirty people were killed between Tuesday and Wednesday when hundreds of communication devices linked to the Hezbollah party-militia exploded, the target of an apparent Israeli attack. Initial investigations suggest the devices were carrying a hidden explosive charge.