Commander of Egyptian Navy Meets with Saudi, Qatari Counterparts

The commander of the Egyptian naval forces receives his Saudi counterpart. (Egypt’s military spokesman)
The commander of the Egyptian naval forces receives his Saudi counterpart. (Egypt’s military spokesman)
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Commander of Egyptian Navy Meets with Saudi, Qatari Counterparts

The commander of the Egyptian naval forces receives his Saudi counterpart. (Egypt’s military spokesman)
The commander of the Egyptian naval forces receives his Saudi counterpart. (Egypt’s military spokesman)

The Commander of the Egyptian Naval Forces, Lieutenant General Ashraf Atwa, met on Sunday with his Saudi counterpart, Lieutenant General Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Ghufaili.

During the meeting, they discussed issues of common interest, within the framework of mutual coordination and military cooperation.

Spokesman for the Egyptian Armed Forces Colonel General Staff Gharib Abdel Hafez said in a statement that the two sides also reviewed the means to “take advantage of the bilateral naval capabilities in the two countries to achieve common interests.”

He added that the meeting came during an official visit of the Saudi Navy Commander to the Egyptian Naval Forces Command in Alexandria.

Atwa also met on Sunday the commander of the Qatari Naval Forces, Major General Abdullah Hassan al-Sulaiti.

The meeting discussed "means of strengthening military cooperation and exchanging experiences between the two countries’ navies.”

During the two visits, the officials inspected a number of naval units to learn about the latest training and arming systems of the Egyptian Navy.



UN Contract Worker Killed in Israeli Strike over Southern Lebanon

A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
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UN Contract Worker Killed in Israeli Strike over Southern Lebanon

A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)
A UN vehicle drives close to the Lebanese-Israeli border in southern Lebanon (Reuters)

An Israeli strike Monday in southern Lebanon killed two people in a car, including a contract worker for the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission near the border.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the two people were killed in an Israeli strike on a car in the southern coastal town of Naqoura, but did not give further details. The UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNIFIL, said one of the victims was an employee at a cleaning company contracted with the agency.

“The contractor’s employee and another individual in the car, who we understand was visiting from abroad, were killed,” UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel said, adding that, "attacks on civilians are violations of international humanitarian law.”

Photos and videos circulated on social media showed a charred vehicle on the side of a road, The AP reported.

It was not clear why the car was targeted. Hezbollah, which normally announces when one of its members is killed, did not claim either of the men killed in Naqoura as a member.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the incident. It has been exchanging fire near-daily with Hezbollah since clashes along the border began last October. Hezbollah began firing rockets over the border on Oct. 8, a day after the outbreak of the war in Gaza sparked by the deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel.

Hezbollah maintains that it will stop firing once a ceasefire agreement is reached to end Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Tensions in recent months have boiled, sparking global fear of the exchanges spiraling into all-out war. UN and international governments for months have urged an end to the fighting.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a month-long war in 2006 that ended in a draw.

Since Oct. 8, almost 600 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups, but also including more than 100 civilians and noncombatants.

In northern Israel, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed by strikes from Lebanon.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced on both sides of the border.