Sisi Says International Community Must Work to Settle Palestinian File

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sisi Says International Community Must Work to Settle Palestinian File

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi stressed “the importance of serious action by the international community towards a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue, in accordance with the references of international legitimacy.”
He noted that Egypt continues its efforts to accelerate the transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, in order to alleviate the sufferings of the Palestinians.
On Wednesday, Sisi received a phone call from the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida. According to a statement by the Egyptian presidential spokesman, Ahmed Fahmy, the two officials exchanged views regarding developments in the regional situation and in the Palestinian territories.
The statement added that the Japanese prime minister listened to Sisi’s view on the means to calm the escalation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and the efforts aimed at “stabilizing the ongoing truce and building on it towards a permanent ceasefire.”
The conversation touched on Egyptian efforts to provide relief aid to the people of the Gaza Strip, Fahmy said, noting that Fumio expressed his country’s appreciation for Cairo’s role and efforts on various axes related to the current crisis and stability in the region.
Meanwhile, the Rafah border crossing witnessed a remarkable improvement in terms of delivery of relief aid to the Palestinians and the transfer of foreigners and the wounded.
The head of the Egyptian State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said on Wednesday: “The volume of medical aid that was brought into the Gaza Strip as of Tuesday evening amounted to 2,973 tons, while the volume of food aid amounted to 11,972 tons, and water 9,111 tons, in addition to 2,611 tons of other relief materials.”
Rashwan stated that Egypt received, during the same period, 575 injured persons from Gaza for treatment in Egyptian hospitals, along with about 320 companions. Moreover, around 8,691 foreigners and dual nationals crossed to Egypt from Gaza, while 421 stranded Palestinians returned to the Strip.
Meanwhile, Egypt marked the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, on Wednesday, by calling on the international community to “take serious and decisive action to stop the grave Israeli violations against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the entire occupied Palestinian territory.”
According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt called for “a permanent and unconditional ceasefire in the Gaza Strip to spare the blood of innocent people, and to provide the necessary relief and humanitarian aid in an adequate and sustainable manner, in order to deal with the unprecedented humanitarian tragedy to which the Palestinian people are exposed.”
The statement continued: “Stability in the Middle East will not be achieved except through a just and comprehensive settlement of the Palestinian issue on the basis of the two-state solution and the relevant decisions of international legitimacy, which requires the international community to come together with all seriousness to implement the two-state solution and embody the independent Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.