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Austin Reiterates US Commitment to Egypt’s, Middle East Security

File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a meeting with Canadian Defense Minister William Blair at the Pentagon on May 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)
File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a meeting with Canadian Defense Minister William Blair at the Pentagon on May 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)
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Austin Reiterates US Commitment to Egypt’s, Middle East Security

File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a meeting with Canadian Defense Minister William Blair at the Pentagon on May 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)
File photo: US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a meeting with Canadian Defense Minister William Blair at the Pentagon on May 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP)

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin reiterated to his Egyptian counterpart the US commitment to the Middle East and Egyptian security in the face of regional threats.
A statement released by the US Department of Defense on Tuesday said that Austin “spoke with Egypt's Minister of Defense, General Mohamed Zaki, today to discuss regional challenges and our deep bilateral security cooperation".
“Secretary Austin reiterated US commitment to the Middle East and Egyptian security in the face of regional threats and expressed appreciation for Egypt's leadership in preventing the spread of the current conflict and in providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza", added the statement.

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At Least 1 Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon 

This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
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At Least 1 Killed in Israeli Airstrikes on Southern Lebanon 

This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
This pictures taken from the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun shows smoke billowing from the site of Israeli airstrikes on the hills of the southern Lebanese village of Nabatieh on May 8, 2025. (AFP)

A series of Israeli airstrikes Thursday in southern Lebanon killed at one person and wounded eight others, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. 

The Israeli military said it bombed infrastructure belonging to the Hezbollah group that included weapons and tunnel shafts as part of an underground network. Israel accused Hezbollah of regrouping and maintaining its infrastructure in violation of a US-brokered ceasefire agreement in November that ended its war with Hezbollah. 

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the strikes near the southern city of Nabatieh, which came as calls mounted for the Lebanese state to disarm the group.  

Hezbollah says it will not lay down its weapons as long as Israel controls part of south Lebanon and continues striking deep inside the country. Israel still has control of five hilltop points on Lebanese territory following its ground invasion last year. 

“The government has not and will not spare any effort to expedite the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory,” Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam told reporters after meeting with officials in the northeastern city of Baalbek, which was battered by the war that killed 4,000 people. 

Hezbollah says it has largely disarmed south of the Litani River, while Israel says its fighters are trying to regroup. 

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said public institutions in the area were closed after the attacks. Families rushed to schools to take their children home. 

Since the ceasefire went into effect in November, Israeli strikes have continued. Israel has struck southern Beirut three times after two rocket attacks from southern Lebanon hit northern Israel, allegedly fired by the Palestinian Hamas group in March. 

After their previous war in 2006, Israel and Hezbollah were supposed to withdraw from southern Lebanon below the Litani River and leave it under the sole control of the Lebanese military alongside UN peacekeepers. That would eventually extend to the rest of the country, with the aim to disarm all non-state groups in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and end Israeli military presence.