Egypt Calls on Iran and Israel to Exercise Restraint

FILED - 19 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. Photo: Stringer/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. Photo: Stringer/dpa
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Egypt Calls on Iran and Israel to Exercise Restraint

FILED - 19 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. Photo: Stringer/dpa
FILED - 19 October 2023, Egypt, Cairo: Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry speaks during a press conference at Tahrir Palace. Photo: Stringer/dpa

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Saturday urged both Iran and Israel to exercise restraint amid high tensions in the Middle East.
Shoukry said “we are concerned about ongoing escalation in the region.
Separately, Shoukry said Egypt would host a Turkish delegation to prepare for a visit by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to Türkiye in the near future.
Open fighting began April 1 with the suspected Israeli killing of Iranian generals at an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria. That prompted Iran's retaliatory barrage last weekend of more than 300 missiles and drones that the US, Israel and regional and international partners helped bat down without significant damage in Israel. And then came Friday's apparent Israeli strike that hit near military and nuclear targets deep in the heart of Iran.



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.