Egypt Pardons Thousands of Prisoners on Eid al-Fitr
Ambassador Moushira Khattab, President of the National Council for Human Rights, in a previous visit to the Correction and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Interior (National Council for Human Rights)
Egypt Pardons Thousands of Prisoners on Eid al-Fitr
Ambassador Moushira Khattab, President of the National Council for Human Rights, in a previous visit to the Correction and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Interior (National Council for Human Rights)
Egypt released more than 3,000 prisoners, in a usual annual amnesty on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr.
The Egyptian Ministry of Interior said, on Thursday, that the Ministry’s Community Protection Sector examined the cases of inmates, both male and female, in correctional and rehabilitation centers across the country, to determine those deserving of pardon, in implementation of the decision of the President of the Republic, on the occasion of the celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
The official Middle East News Agency reported that the families of the released prisoners have expressed their “happiness at the change they saw in their children’s behavior” as a result of their presence in the rehabilitation centers, expressing gratitude for “giving them a new opportunity to engage within society.”
A number of human rights organizations say that Egyptian prisons suffer from overcrowding and weak health services.
In this regard, MP Tariq Radwan, head of the Human Rights Committee in the Egyptian House of Representatives, said: “The decision to pardon detainees confirm that the Egyptian state is seeking new policies towards human rights and the right of expression.”
In a statement, Radwan noted that the decision was a “positive step” towards a real and effective national dialogue, stressing that “the Egyptian state confirms its determination to provide an adequate atmosphere that meets the aspirations of the Egyptian people.”
Caption: Ambassador Moushira Khattab, President of the National Council for Human Rights, in a previous visit to the Correction and Rehabilitation Center of the Ministry of Interior (National Council for Human Rights)
European Nations Say Israel, Hezbollah Fighting ‘Must Cease’https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5258135-european-nations-say-israel-hezbollah-fighting-%E2%80%98must-cease%E2%80%99
A man stands atop the rubble as smoke rises from a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 14, 2026. (AP)
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European Nations Say Israel, Hezbollah Fighting ‘Must Cease’
A man stands atop the rubble as smoke rises from a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, March 14, 2026. (AP)
Eighteen European countries on Thursday urged Israel and Hezbollah to stop fighting as their latest conflict reached one month and with fears over Israeli plans to occupy part of southern Lebanon post-war.
"Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah's attacks must cease," the foreign ministers of the countries including Italy, Spain, Belgium, Poland and Ireland said in a joint statement.
"We urge Israel to fully respect Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and call on all parties, both Hezbollah and Israel, to halt military action," the statement said.
War Crimes Complaint Filed in France Over 2024 Deadly Israeli Strike in Beiruthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5258130-war-crimes-complaint-filed-france-over-2024-deadly-israeli-strike-beirut
A photographs shows damaged buildings following an overnight Israeli airstrike in the Hadath neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, on April 1, 2026. (AFP)
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War Crimes Complaint Filed in France Over 2024 Deadly Israeli Strike in Beirut
A photographs shows damaged buildings following an overnight Israeli airstrike in the Hadath neighborhood of Beirut's southern suburbs, on April 1, 2026. (AFP)
A complaint filed Thursday in France seeks a war crimes investigation into an Israeli strike on a Beirut apartment building in November 2024 said to have killed seven civilians including the parents of a French-Lebanese artist, a human rights group said.
The artist, Ali Cherri, and the International Federation for Human Rights, or FIDH, said the complaint was filed with France’s war crimes unit in Paris against unknown perpetrators over the strike in Beirut’s Noueiri neighborhood, just hours before a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect.
The human rights group said the strike hit at about 5:30 p.m. and destroyed a ninth-floor apartment owned by Cherri, as well as apartments on the seventh and eighth floors. The group identified the dead as Cherri’s parents, Mahmoud Naim Cherri and Nadira Hayek, and domestic worker Birki Negesa, among others.
“We want an investigation to help us clear up the facts and understand why civilians were targeted in this horrific way,” Cherri told The Associated Press.
The filing argues that the bombing of a civilian building could constitute a war crime under French criminal law and international humanitarian law. FIDH said it draws in part on analysis by human rights groups Forensic Architecture and Amnesty International.
Amnesty International said Thursday it supported the case and that its own investigation found no evidence of a military objective in or near the building at the time of the strike. It also said civilians received no effective advance warning and that the attack should be investigated as a war crime.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry referred questions about the case to Israel’s military, which did not immediately respond Thursday, a religious holiday in Israel. Israel’s military has previously said it follows international legal norms and strikes only legitimate military targets.
On the day after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza, the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians. Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024.
Around 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon during that conflict while 47 Israeli civilians and more than 80 Israeli soldiers were killed before the Nov. 2024 ceasefire.
Since the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, a new war has erupted between Israel and Hezbollah. On March 2, Hezbollah began firing salvos of missiles across the border.
Israel has since launched aerial bombardment of large swathes of Lebanon and launched a ground invasion. More than 1,200 people have been killed and more than a million displaced in Lebanon to date.
According to FIDH, French courts do not have jurisdiction over the killings themselves because the dead were not French nationals. But it said Cherri’s dual French-Lebanese nationality gives French authorities jurisdiction to investigate the bombing of the apartment he owned.
The group also said no legal proceedings had been initiated in Lebanon or abroad to date over the attack.
“It’s going to be a long process, and probably with no cooperation from the Israelis,” Cherri said. “But it’s important to seek justice and to stop the cycle of impunity.”
Cherri, a Paris-based artist and filmmaker originally from Beirut, has said he is seeking recognition and accountability over the attack that killed his family members and other civilians.
Hezbollah 'Addresses Its Supporters'...Reveals Using Surface-to-Air Missileshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5258094-hezbollah-addresses-its-supportersreveals-using-surface-air-missiles
Hezbollah 'Addresses Its Supporters'...Reveals Using Surface-to-Air Missiles
An Israeli helicopter flying in Israeli airspace near the border with Lebanon (EPA)
Hezbollah has, in recent days, activated the use of surface-to-air missiles to target Israeli drones, in addition to firing them at helicopters and fighter jets, according to statements it issued. It reported the downing of several drones in southern Lebanon and damage to a helicopter, while experts say these announcements are “directed inward to suggest that Israel does not have air superiority over Lebanon’s skies, a claim that is illusory.”
While the group had used this type of missile in the previous war in 2024, it has recently intensified their use, with five such operations recorded last Wednesday, raising questions about the types of missiles it possesses and their ability to alter the course of the battle, given Israel’s air superiority, which remains a decisive factor in favor of Tel Aviv.
Notably, last week the group announced that it had engaged an Israeli warplane over Beirut using a surface-to-air missile, in the first operation of its kind over the capital. This raised concerns about civil aviation, as the launch took place from the vicinity of Beirut International Airport.
Hezbollah has focused on using surface-to-air missiles in the southern border area, specifically in attempts to target and down Israeli helicopters during the evacuation of dead or wounded Israeli soldiers.
A Hezbollah fighter carrying an air defense missile during a previous military exercise (file photo – Asharq Al-Awsat)
What Missiles Is the Group Using?
Regarding the type of missiles used, Dr. Riad Kahwaji, a researcher and writer on security and defense affairs, said: “These missiles are shoulder-fired and are of the Misagh type, a modified and upgraded model similar to the Russian SAM-7. Hezbollah used them in the previous war and downed a number of drones with them.”
He added that the group announces such operations to claim that Israel does not have air superiority and that it possesses air defenses capable of confronting aircraft, in order to create an illusion for its audience.
“In reality, the maximum capability of these missiles is limited to targeting some drones, nothing more, given that Israeli fighter jets have overcome the advanced Russian S-300 air defense system, which is a highly advanced system.”
Kahwaji told Asharq Al-Awsat that “the air defenses possessed by the group do not pose any threat whatsoever, near or far, to Israeli aircraft, which enjoy complete air superiority over the skies of Lebanon and Iran.”
Types of Surface-to-Air Missiles
Misagh-2 missiles are relatively modern and effective against low-altitude targets. They track the heat signature of an aircraft or helicopter engine and are fired from the shoulder by a single soldier, with a range of between 5 and 6 kilometers. By contrast, the Russian S-300 is an integrated air defense system and one of the most well-known and most powerful long-range systems in the world, with a range of between 75 and 200 kilometers. Iran possesses the Russian S-300 system as well as the long-range Bavar-373 system, but it has not succeeded in downing any fighter jet during the ongoing US-Israeli war.
Hezbollah Operations
Hezbollah announced last week that it had launched a surface-to-air missile toward an Israeli warplane over Beirut. It also said it targeted an Israeli helicopter on Tuesday over the town of Yaroun with two surface-to-air missiles, stating that its fighters “achieved a confirmed hit.”
The group also said on Wednesday that it had downed an Israeli military drone of the Hermes 450 (Zik) type over the town of Aita al-Shaab using a surface-to-air missile. It added that its fighters also engaged an Israeli warplane on Wednesday over the town of Jouaiya using a surface-to-air missile.
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