Egypt Army Chief of Staff Inspects Security Situation on Gaza Border

Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)
Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)
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Egypt Army Chief of Staff Inspects Security Situation on Gaza Border

Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)
Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas patrol near the border between Egypt and Gaza. (Reuters file photo)

Egypt's army chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Fathy Khalifa made a surprise visit to the country's border with the Gaza Strip to inspect the security situation, state television reported on Thursday, citing the army's spokesperson.

The visit comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that Israel would only agree to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza which guaranteed that the border area between southern Gaza and Egypt could never be used as a lifeline for the Islamist movement Hamas, Reuters reported.

The Philadelphi corridor, along the southern edge of the Gaza Strip bordering Egypt, has been one of the main obstacles to a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring Israeli hostages home in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.



Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 31 in Lebanon

 Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Airstrikes Kill at Least 31 in Lebanon

 Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows over Beirut's southern suburbs after Israeli strikes, amid hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Baabda, Lebanon, November 25, 2024. (Reuters)

Massive explosions lit up Lebanon’s skies with flashes of orange, sending towering plumes of smoke into the air as Israeli airstrikes pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs. The blasts damaged buildings and left shattered glass and debris scattered across nearby streets. No casualties were reported after many residents fled the targeted sites.

Some of the strikes landed close to central Beirut and near Christian neighborhoods and other targets where Israel had issued evacuation warnings, including in Tyre and Nabatiyeh province. Israeli airstrikes also hit the northeast Baalbek-Hermel region without warning.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that 26 people were killed in southern Lebanon, four in the eastern Baalbek-Hermel province and one in Choueifat, a neighborhood in Beirut’s southern suburbs that was not subjected to evacuation warnings on Monday.

The deaths brought the total toll to 3,768 killed in Lebanon throughout 13 months of war between Israel and Hezbollah and nearly two months since Israel launched its ground invasion. Many of those killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hezbollah have been civilians, and health officials said some of the recovered bodies were so severely damaged that DNA testing would be required to confirm their identities.

Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members. Lebanon’s Health Ministry says the war has displaced 1.2 million people.