Israel Not Looking for Confrontation with Hezbollah, Says President 

Israeli soldiers patrol an area near the northern border with Lebanon on October 23, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers patrol an area near the northern border with Lebanon on October 23, 2023. (AFP)
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Israel Not Looking for Confrontation with Hezbollah, Says President 

Israeli soldiers patrol an area near the northern border with Lebanon on October 23, 2023. (AFP)
Israeli soldiers patrol an area near the northern border with Lebanon on October 23, 2023. (AFP)

Israel is not looking to wage war with Hezbollah militants on its northern border, but is focused instead on battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Tuesday during a meeting with French head of state Emmanuel Macron.

"I want to make clear, we are not looking for a confrontation on our northern border or with anyone else ... But if Hezbollah drags us into a war, it should be clear that Lebanon will pay the price," Herzog said.



Siga Technologies to Supply Mpox Therapy in Morocco

The Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. (AFP)
The Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. (AFP)
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Siga Technologies to Supply Mpox Therapy in Morocco

The Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. (AFP)
The Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. (AFP)

Drugmaker Siga Technologies said on Tuesday it would supply its therapy for mpox in Morocco as part of a contract in response to a request from the country's health ministry for protection against any potential outbreak of the disease.

Although the antiviral therapy Tpoxx has been available in Africa through clinical trials and the World Health Organization's emergency use access protocol to deal with the current outbreak of mpox virus, this agreement marks Siga's first commercial sale of the therapy on the continent, Reuters reported.

The therapy is approved in the US and Canada for the treatment of smallpox and authorized in Europe and the UK for smallpox, mpox, cowpox and complications from vaccinia virus.

The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention stated last month that the outbreak is not under control, after the WHO declared it a public health emergency of international concern in August upon identifying the new variant.

Two cases of the disease have been confirmed in Morocco this year, according to the WHO.