Egypt Maintaining Efforts to Restore Calm in Gaza

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)
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Egypt Maintaining Efforts to Restore Calm in Gaza

 Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron pose for a family photo, during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 1, 2023. (Reuters)

Egypt is persistently engaged in efforts to restore calm between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.

“Cairo is currently seeking to restore calm and strengthen the truce and to prepare the way for the resumption of the peace process,” an Egyptian security source said.

On Friday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reviewed his country’s efforts to calm the situation and extend the humanitarian truce to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as Egyptian efforts to receive the wounded Palestinians and evacuate foreign nationals.

During his meeting with world leaders on the sidelines of the 28th Session of Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Dubai, he underlined Egypt’s efforts to restore calm.

He stressed the need to provide the necessary protection for civilians, while striving to find the appropriate political path to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.

Sisi received several European officials in Cairo over the past week to discuss Gaza.

He met with Hungary’s President Katalin Novák and the foreign ministers of Slovakia and Portugal, in addition to the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium.

According to official statements, talks underscored the vital importance of reaching a permanent ceasefire, and to propose political solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

During a meeting between Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the COP28 conference in Dubai, the leaders agreed on the vital importance of reaching urgent solutions to the ongoing crisis and taking action to ensure the access of humanitarian assistance.

They stressed the need to launch a comprehensive political process aimed at reaching a just settlement to the conflict based on the two-state solution and in line with the relevant international resolutions.

Sisi met with British PM Rishi Sunak, and they agreed on the gravity of the current situation in the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the uncalculated consequences of expanding the conflict on the stability of the region.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian security source said on Friday that “Egypt made urgent contacts with both the Israeli and Palestinian sides as soon as the Israeli attacks renewed on Gaza.”

According to the German news agency, dpa, the source said Egypt and Qatar coordinated immediately after Israel resumed its attacks.

The source noted that both countries have initiated contacts with all parties involved in the implementation, monitoring and mediation of the truce, mainly the US, which joined Egypt and Qatar to help broker the now expired ceasefire.

The source confirmed that the talks were part of intensive negotiations held on Thursday night to extend the humanitarian ceasefire that lasted around seven days.



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.