Egypt Asks its Airlines to Avoid Tehran Airspace for Three Hours on Thursday

Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)
Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)
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Egypt Asks its Airlines to Avoid Tehran Airspace for Three Hours on Thursday

Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)
Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)

Egypt instructed all of its airlines to avoid Iranian air space for a three-hour period in the early morning on Thursday amid tension between Israel and Iran.

The NOTAM, a safety notice provided to pilots on Wednesday, said the instruction would be in effect from 0100-0400 GMT.

"All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran (Flight information Region) FIR. No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory," the notice said, referring to the three-hour period provided.

On Sunday, Jordanian authorities asked all airlines landing at its airports to carry 45 minutes worth of extra fuel.

Many airlines are revising their schedules to avoid Iranian and Lebanese air space while also calling off flights to Israel and Lebanon as many fear a possible broader conflict after the killing of senior members of armed groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Countries in the region, including Jordan, closed their airspace earlier this year amidst aerial attacks on Israel.



Israeli Ground Troops in Lebanon Reach the Litani River

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
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Israeli Ground Troops in Lebanon Reach the Litani River

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Al-Khiam, as seen from northern Israel, 26 November 2024, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. (EPA)

The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon’s Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire.

In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces.

Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border.

The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation.

The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in “close-quarters combat” with Hezbollah forces.

The announcement came hours before Israel’s security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting.