Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to the US on Tuesday to meet House of Representatives and Senate members in Washington. (Reuters/File Photo)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to the US on Tuesday to meet House of Representatives and Senate members in Washington. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 05 December 2023
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Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials

Egypt’s FM heads to US for talks with top officials
  • Shoukry will meet Congress foreign policy committee officials with the aim of advancing and strengthening strategic relations
  • Visit will also include talks with a number of American think tanks and research centers

CAIRO: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry traveled to the US on Tuesday to meet House of Representatives and Senate members in Washington.

Shoukry will meet Congress foreign policy committee officials with the aim of advancing and strengthening strategic relations, according to Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid.

The visit will also include talks with a number of American think tanks and research centers, in addition to media engagements, he said.

Abu Zeid said that Shoukry will also join an Arab-Islamic ministerial committee meeting on Dec. 7.

The committee will hold meetings with the US secretary of state, a number of Congress members and the US media in an effort to stop the war in Gaza, in line with the mandate issued by the recent Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit.

Meanwhile, Shoukry affirmed Egypt’s categorical rejection of attempts to force Palestinians out of Gaza.

The foreign minister made the remarks during a phone call with Colombian counterpart Alvaro Leyva.

Shoukry and Leyva discussed the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, the necessity of an immediate ceasefire and the opportunity to establish humanitarian truces to bring in aid.


Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave

Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave
Updated 3 sec ago
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Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave

Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave
CAIRO: Israeli tanks pushed into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in the south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Palestinian medics said further Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people across the enclave.
Residents said tanks advanced one day after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders, saying there had been rocket launches by Palestinian militants from the area.
With shells crashing near residential areas, families left their homes and headed westward toward the nearby humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza and that most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times.
Later on Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike at a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi killed at least 17 people and wounded several others, medics said. The Civil Emergency Service said the attack set several tents housing displaced families ablaze.
Another Israeli airstrike hit three houses in Gaza City, killing at least 10 people and wounding many others, the territory’s emergency service said. Many victims were still trapped under the rubble with rescue operations underway.
Medics said 11 people were killed in three airstrikes on areas in central Gaza, including six children and a medic. Five of the dead had been queuing outside a bakery, they said.
A further nine Palestinians were killed by tank fire in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics said.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the information given by Palestinian medics.
Israeli forces also fired on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza for the fifth straight day, hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya said. Three of his medical staff had been wounded, one critically, on Tuesday night, he said.
Drone strikes
“Drones are dropping bombs filled with shrapnel that injure and anyone that dares to move,” said Abu Safiya. “This situation is extremely urgent.”
Residents in three towns — Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun — said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.
Palestinians say Israel’s army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli army denies this and says it has returned to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area where it had previously cleared them out.
The army says militants frequently use residential buildings, schools and hospitals for operational cover. Hamas denies this, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminate attacks.
Israel launched its offensive in the densely populated enclave after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 44,400 Palestinians, injured many others, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah last week that halted fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.
But the war in Gaza has ground on with only a single ceasefire more than a year ago that lasted for one week.

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047
Updated 19 min 53 sec ago
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Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047
  • Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad says 316 children, 790 women among dead
  • Says real numbers may be higher due to unrecorded deaths of Lebanese citizens

BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 4,047 people, most of them since a September escalation, authorities said Wednesday.
A week after a ceasefire took effect, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters that “until now... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded.”
Abiad said 316 children and 790 women were among the dead.
Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he said, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.
A source close to Hezbollah had told AFP that hundreds of the group’s fighters had been killed, without providing a precise figure.
On the Israeli side, authorities reported at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians dead.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect last week and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
During the fighting, according to Abiad, there were “67 attacks on hospitals, including 40 hospitals that were directly targeted,” killing 16 people.
“Seven of these hospitals are still closed,” the minister said.
“There were 238 attacks on emergency response organizations, with 206 dead,” he said, adding that 256 emergency vehicles including fire trucks and ambulances were also “targeted.”
The Israeli military has insisted its actions were aimed at militants, and in October accused Hezbollah of using ambulances “for terrorist purposes.”
On Monday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 11 people, according to the health ministry, after Hezbollah earlier in the day claimed its first attack on an Israeli position since the truce began.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “if we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper” into Lebanon, adding that “there will be no immunity” for the Lebanese state, which was not a party to the Israel-Hezbollah war.


Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanese people mourn over the coffin of a relative in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Lebanese people mourn over the coffin of a relative in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 04 December 2024
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Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanese people mourn over the coffin of a relative in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 2, 2024. (AFP)

BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 4,047 people, most of them since a September escalation, authorities said Wednesday.
A week after a ceasefire took effect, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters that “until now... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded.”
Abiad said 316 children and 790 women were among the dead.
Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he said, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.
A source close to Hezbollah had told AFP that hundreds of the group’s fighters had been killed, without providing a precise figure.
On the Israeli side, authorities reported at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians dead.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect last week and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
During the fighting, according to Abiad, there were “67 attacks on hospitals, including 40 hospitals that were directly targeted,” killing 16 people.
“Seven of these hospitals are still closed,” the minister said.
“There were 238 attacks on emergency response organizations, with 206 dead,” he said, adding that 256 emergency vehicles including fire trucks and ambulances were also “targeted.”
The Israeli military has insisted its actions were aimed at militants, and in October accused Hezbollah of using ambulances “for terrorist purposes.”
On Monday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 11 people, according to the health ministry, after Hezbollah earlier in the day claimed its first attack on an Israeli position since the truce began.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “if we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper” into Lebanon, adding that “there will be no immunity” for the Lebanese state, which was not a party to the Israel-Hezbollah war.


Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns
Updated 04 December 2024
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Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns
  • West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians as well as 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements that are considered illegal under international law
  • Violence in the occupied Palestinian territory has soared since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 last year after Hamas’s attack on Israel

HUWARA, Palestinian Territories: Israeli settlers on Wednesday wounded a Palestinian and set buildings on fire while raiding two villages in the occupied West Bank after a nearby settlement outpost was evicted by Israeli forces, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
“Israeli civilians entered the village of Beit Furik” east of the Palestinian city of Nablus, the Israeli army said, adding that they “set property on fire, and hurled stones.”
Local authorities told AFP the attacks took place early on Wednesday morning.
The army said that the settlers reacted after Israeli forces “acted against illegal construction by Israeli civilians adjacent to the town of Beit Furik” on Tuesday night, triggering clashes during which the settlers injured two policemen with stones.
Nahi Hanani, deputy head of the Beit Furik council, told AFP that dozens of settlers attacked the village “setting fire to a truck in front of one house and another vehicle,” early on Wednesday.
“They also set fire to a grocery shop in the village and another house was slightly damaged,” he said.
The army said the Israelis also “set property on fire and threw stones” in Huwara, a town to the south of Nablus.
Rana Abu Hania, spokeswoman for Huwara’s town hall, confirmed to AFP that one resident was injured when settlers attacked the town early on Wednesday.
“They burned two cars and the house of one citizen... The army also demolished a used car lot,” said Abu Hania.
Yusef Awadi, a resident of Huwara, told AFP that settlers burned his brother’s house Wednesday morning.
“They set fire to the Jeep and to the car outside... They entered the house, set it on fire, and then left,” the 66-year-old said, adding that his brother Tayseer was hospitalized.
“He was hit on the head and... was transferred to Rafidia Hospital,” Awadi told AFP, adding that had his brother’s family not been awake, “they would have all burned with the house.”
In a joint statement, the Israeli army and police said that eight suspects were arrested in the investigation into the Beit Furik and Huwara attacks, “for assaulting security forces, engaging in friction, and causing damage to property.”
The army said that there were also clashes between the Israeli army and “about 20 Israelis” in Rujeib, a town closer to Nablus, on Tuesday evening.
The West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians as well as 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
Violence in the occupied Palestinian territory has soared since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 last year after Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 788 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Palestinian attacks on Israelis have also killed at least 24 people in the West Bank in the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.


Blinken says ‘ceasefire is holding’ in Lebanon

A damaged site in Beirut's southern suburbs where the US secretary of state said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon appear
A damaged site in Beirut's southern suburbs where the US secretary of state said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon appear
Updated 24 min 23 sec ago
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Blinken says ‘ceasefire is holding’ in Lebanon

A damaged site in Beirut's southern suburbs where the US secretary of state said the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon appear
  • US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says all parties continue to want the cease fire
  • Both Israel and Hezbollah face accusations of having breached the truce

BRUSSELS: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday the ceasefire in Lebanon was “holding” despite a series of incidents between Israel and Iran-backed militants Hezbollah.
“The ceasefire is holding, and we’re using the mechanism that was established when any concerns have arisen about any alleged or purported violations,” Blinken told journalists on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels.
Both Israel and Hezbollah face accusations of having breached the truce that took effect last Wednesday to end a war that has killed thousands in Lebanon and sparked mass displacements on both sides.
“I think fundamentally, both parties, that is to say Israel and Hezbollah, through the Lebanese government, wanted and continue to want the cease fire,” said Blinken.
“But we have to make sure that it’s upheld. And we’re determined to do that,” he added.
A committee including France, UN peacekeepers, Israel, Lebanon and chaired by the United States is tasked with maintaining communication between the various parties and ensuring violations are identified and dealt with to avoid any escalation.
“The mechanism that we established with France to make sure that the ceasefire is effectively monitored and implemented is working, and we want to make sure it continues to work,” Blinken said.
“If there are concerns that one party or the other is violating the ceasefire, it comes to us, and one way or another, we engage the parties. That’s exactly what’s happened,” he added.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas, following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.