Hezbollah is not giving up. The Islamist movement said on Wednesday, September 18, that it “will continue” its support operations in Gaza, despite the deadly wave of pager explosions that targeted it on Tuesday and which it blames on Israel. This attack left at least 9 dead and 2,800 injured, among them members of Hezbollah. The Shiite movement specified, in a statement published on Telegram, that this path was “distinct from the difficult record that the criminal enemy [Israël] must wait for his Tuesday massacre”. Israel has not yet responded. Follow our live feed.
A Taiwanese company denies manufacturing the pagers. Taiwanese company Gold Apollo on Wednesday denied reports that it manufactured the pagers that exploded. “These are not our products (…) These are not our products from start to finish”company director Hsu Chin-kuang told reporters in Taipei, responding to reports from the New York Times.
Antony Blinken’s quick visit to Cairo. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Cairo early Wednesday for a whirlwind visit to his Egyptian ally. The top US diplomat is due to meet with Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and co-chair a meeting of the “strategic dialogue” between the United States and Egypt, according to the State Department. “We are engaged, we continue to be engaged with the two other mediators in the conflict, Egypt and Qatar.”State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Air France suspends its connections with Israel and Lebanon. “Due to the security situation”the French airline has suspended its flights between Paris and Beirut and between Paris and Tel Aviv, until September 19 inclusive, France Télévisions learned from the company. It specifies that customers affected by its connections “will be notified individually and solutions for postponement or reimbursement will be offered to them”.