Egypt Warns of Consequences from Escalation in Israel, Türkiye’s Erdogan Calls for Restraint

File photo: Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, on November 13, 2019. (Anas Baba/AFP)
File photo: Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, on November 13, 2019. (Anas Baba/AFP)
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Egypt Warns of Consequences from Escalation in Israel, Türkiye’s Erdogan Calls for Restraint

File photo: Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, on November 13, 2019. (Anas Baba/AFP)
File photo: Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, on November 13, 2019. (Anas Baba/AFP)

Egypt warned on Saturday of what it said were “grave consequences” from the recent escalation in tension between Israel and the Palestinians following a series of Israeli aggression against Palestinian villages.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry urged both sides to “exercise maximum restraint and avoid exposing civilians to further risks".

The Ministry warned “of serious repercussions as a result of escalation in violence," which would negatively affect the future of peace talks between the two.

Egypt voiced calls on all parties involved in the peace process discussions to urge Israel to stop the attacks and provocations against the Palestinian people and to abide by the rules of international humanitarian law with regard to the responsibilities of the occupying state.

Moreover, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Israelis and Palestinians to act with restraint and refrain from hostile acts that could exacerbate the situation.

"We call for restraint from all parties," Erdogan said at a congress for his ruling AK Party in Ankara. "They must refrain from aggressive acts," he said.
 



Blinken again Says Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal is ‘Very Close’

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL
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Blinken again Says Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Deal is ‘Very Close’

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken speaks to the media on the sidelines of a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo, Japan, 07 January 2025. EPA/TAKASHI AOYAMA/POOL

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is again saying that a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is “very close” and he hopes “we can get it over the line” before handing over US diplomacy to the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.
“In area after area, we’re handing off, in some cases, things that we haven’t been able to complete but that create real opportunities to move things forward in a better way,” he said Wednesday on a stop in Paris for meetings.
Blinken said that even if the Biden administration's plans for a ceasefire and hostage deal don’t come to fruition before Trump’s inauguration, he thinks they’ll be put into practice afterward.
“I believe that when we get that deal – and we’ll get that deal – it will be on the basis of the plans that President Biden put before the world,” he said.
Israel’s military says troops have recovered the body of an additional hostage from Gaza. The body of an Israeli hostage held in Gaza, 53-year-old Yosef AlZayadni, was recovered in an underground tunnel in southern Gaza, the military said Wednesday. It said it was examining whether a second body was that of another hostage.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said earlier a second hostage's body had been recovered: AlZayadni’s son Hamzah.
The men were taken captive during Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The return of the body comes as Israel and Hamas are considering a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel believes a third of the remaining 100 hostages are dead. However, AlZayadni was believed to still be alive before Wednesday’s announcement.
AlZayadni, who had 19 children, had worked at a dairy in southern Israel’s Kibbutz Holit for 17 years, said the Hostages Family Forum, a group representing the families of captives. AlZayadni was kidnapped with three of his children. His teenage kids, Bilal and Aisha, were released in a weeklong ceasefire deal in November.
The family are members of the Bedouin community, part of Israel’s Palestinian minority who have Israeli citizenship.