Egypt Warns Against Dangers of Opening New War Front in Lebanon

A view shows smoke on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, as people sit at a beach in Tyre, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
A view shows smoke on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, as people sit at a beach in Tyre, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
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Egypt Warns Against Dangers of Opening New War Front in Lebanon

A view shows smoke on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, as people sit at a beach in Tyre, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher
A view shows smoke on the Lebanese side of the border with Israel, as people sit at a beach in Tyre, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, southern Lebanon August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

Egypt warned against the dangers of opening a new war front in Lebanon, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday, and called for stability in the country as Hezbollah and Israel clashed again.

Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early Sunday in what it said was a preemptive strike on Hezbollah, as the group said it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month.

The heavy exchange of fire came amid mounting fears of an all-out war that could draw in the United States, Iran and its militant allies across the region.

The Israeli military said it struck because Hezbollah was planning to launch a heavy barrage of rockets and missiles toward Israel. Soon after, Hezbollah announced it had launched an attack on Israeli military positions as an initial response to the killing of Fouad Shukur, one of its founders, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut last month.



Egypt Warns Visiting US General on Lebanon Risk

US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights
US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights
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Egypt Warns Visiting US General on Lebanon Risk

US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights
US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is greeted upon arrival in Cairo, Egypt, August 25, 2024. REUTERS/Phil Stewart Purchase Licensing Rights

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned America's top general during a meeting on Sunday of the dangers of a major conflict in Lebanon.

US Air Force General C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Egypt hours after a significant missile exchange between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah.

Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel and Israel said it struck Lebanon with about 100 jets to thwart a bigger attack, in one of the largest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

In a statement, Sisi's office said the Egyptian leader told Brown that the international community needed to "exert all efforts and intensify pressures to defuse tension and stop the state of escalation that threatens the security and stability of the entire region."

"(Sisi warned) in this regard of the dangers of opening a new front in Lebanon, and stressing the need to preserve Lebanon's stability and sovereignty," the statement read, Reuters reported.

Brown did not make public remarks during his visit, on which he also met the defence minister and the country's chief of defense.

In remarks to Reuters prior to arriving in the region on Saturday, Brown said he aimed to discuss ways to avoid any new escalation in tensions that could spiral into a broader conflict.

Brown’s spokesperson said the US general discussed ways "to deter the conflict from broadening" during the meetings.

Prior to his Egypt trip, Brown met Jordan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Maj. Gen. Yousef Al-Huneiti in Amman.

In a statement, Brown's spokesperson said the two military leaders discussed "regional tensions and efforts to deescalate them."

They also discussed "the urgency of bringing the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure," the statement said.