Middle East updates: Hezbollah to fight after pager blasts

Matthew Levitt, an expert on counterterrorism and intelligence at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told DW that Tuesday's attack on pagers used by Hezbollah was a huge intelligence penetration of the militant group, and "it is highly likely that Israel is behind this incident."

"It seems quite clear that small amounts of explosives were inserted into these pagers during the procurement of them while they were in the supply chain. This was not some type of cyber issue," Levitt said.

He added that this attack was likely a signal from the Israelis to Hezbollah that they're "very, very serious" and that they need to end the 11 months of Hezbollah firing rockets into northern Israel.

Watch the entire interview with Levitt here:

Egyptian Preisdent Abdel Fattah el-Sissi told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Cairo rejects any attempt at an escalation in conflict in Gaza and supports Lebanon in the aftermath of the pager explosions. 

"The president affirmed Egypt's rejection of attempts to escalate the conflict and expand its scope regionally, pointing out the need for all parties to act responsibly, and reaffirming Egypt's support for Lebanon," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement. 

Blinken has traveled to Egypt, a fellow country trying to mediate a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, with a view to advancing that long-stalled process. 

El-Sissi's office said that during a 90-minute meeting Wednesday, the pair discussed "ways to intensify joint efforts between Egypt, the US and Qatar to make progress on cease-fire negotiations and the exchange of hostages and detainees." 

The president also called for "decisive intervention to remove obstacles to the entry of huge amounts of aid" to Gaza, and "ending Israeli violations in the West Bank," his office said.

A US State Department spokesperson had said prior to the talks not to expect major developments on Wednesday in Cairo. The spokesperson said Blinken was focused on trying to hammer out a proposal that the mediators believed both Israel and Hamas would agree to.

Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said Wednesday that 12 people had died following the explosions of hundreds of paging devices used by Hezbollah members. 

Abiad told a news conference that "after checking with all the hospitals," the toll was revised to "12 dead, including two children." 

He put the number of wounded at between 2,750 and 2,800. 

He said some patients, for instance in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, "were transferred to Syria" for treatment and that other people would also be evacuated to Iran.

Lebanon's government and Hezbollah have accused Israel of being behind the explosions.

Israel has not commented on the pager explosions. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas embarks on a two-day trip to Spain on Wednesday that will include talks with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and King Felipe VI. 

The visit follows Spain's formal recognition of a Palestinian statecomprising the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The first Palestinian ambassador to Spain presented his credentials to King Felipe in Madrid on Monday. 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid's decision in May to recognize a Palestinian state was "not against anyone, least of all Israel," but it nevertheless drew a critical response from Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the time called the move "a reward for terrorism."

 Spain has been more critical than most European governments of Israel's military action in Gaza in recent months.

 Abbas leads Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, which currently governs the occupied West Bank but not the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Hamas militant group. Abbas' talks with Sanchez were scheduled for Thursday.

In late May, Spain and Ireland became the first EU members to recognize a Palestinian state. Slovenia became the third in June. Norway, which is not a member of the EU, also recognized an independent Palestinian state.

Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company initially thought to have made the devices, said the Hungary-based firm BAC, which has a license to use the Gold Apollo brand and design, had actually manufactured the pagers. 

"According to the cooperation agreement, we authorize BAC to use our brand trademark for product sales in designated regions, but the design and manufacturing of the products are solely the responsibility of BAC," the statement read.

Experts have said that the explosive material was likely put into the pagers prior to delivery in what would have been a highly sophisticated supply chain infiltration operation.

A day after nine people died and thousands were injured when pagers belonging to Hezbollah members exploded across Lebanon and in parts of Syria, the militant group has said it will not stop fighting.

The group said Israel, which has not commented on the attack, would receive "its fair punishment" for the incident and that they "will continue" the fight for Gaza.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah announced he will give a major speech on Thursday to address the "latest developments."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Cairo for his 10th trip to the Middle East since the beginning of the war in Gaza.

He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, but his mission to promote a cease-fire is likely to be complicated by an attack on Hezbollah members in Lebanon a day earlier.

"He'll be meeting with Egyptian officials about a number of things, but squarely on the agenda is how we get a proposal that we think would secure agreement from both parties," said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

Miller said the US was "not involved" in the attack and "not aware of this incident in advance." 

Israel has yet to comment on the pager explosions.

Repeated attempts at peace talks have been hampered by both Israeli and Hamas leaders' refusal to budge on key issues.
 

The United Nations General Assembly is set to adopt a Palestinian-drafted resolution calling for an end to Israel's "unlawful presence" in the occupied West Bank within the next 12 months.

Since 1967, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank has been considered illegal under international law, including by Israel's allies. In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israeli settlements there illegal.

The move at the UN General Assembly comes ahead of a major gathering of world leaders at the UN, including scheduled addresses by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on September 26.

At least nine people, including a child, were killed in Lebanon when pagers belonging to the Hezbollah militant group exploded across the country.

"About 2,750 people were injured... more than 200 of them critically," Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said.

More than a dozen people were also wounded in Syria, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Lebanon's Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a "dangerous and deliberate Israeli escalation."

Israel has not commented on the incident.

es/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)