Egypt Criticizes Israel’s ‘Serious Escalation’ in Lebanon

 Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
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Egypt Criticizes Israel’s ‘Serious Escalation’ in Lebanon

 Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike on a village in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel October 1, 2024. (Reuters)

Egypt’s top diplomat on Tuesday deplored Israel’s “serious escalation” in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli military said it launched a “limited and focused” ground incursion.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelaty warned that Israel’s escalation threatens to inflame the entire region “in a way that will lead to dire security and humanitarian consequences,” according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Abdelaty also said Egypt will reject any attempts to establish a new status quo that violates Lebanon’s sovereignty.



In Gaza, Hunger and Anxiety about an Uncertain Future

Palestinians walk past shelters of families who returned to northern Gaza, set up among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip, 13 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians walk past shelters of families who returned to northern Gaza, set up among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip, 13 February 2025. (EPA)
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In Gaza, Hunger and Anxiety about an Uncertain Future

Palestinians walk past shelters of families who returned to northern Gaza, set up among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip, 13 February 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians walk past shelters of families who returned to northern Gaza, set up among the rubble of destroyed buildings amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip, 13 February 2025. (EPA)

Displaced Palestinians in central Gaza remain fearful that the war could resume, longing for stability as they struggle to find shelter and secure food.

“The war paused, but starvation is still ongoing,” said Um Yehia Shaheen, a displaced woman from Gaza City.

Some 30 people lined up in front of a charity kitchen on Friday in Deir al-Balah, carrying buckets or pots for their share of yellow rice and small chunks of meat. Children in line held bags of flatbread. Frozen meat is now available in the market, an AP journalist confirmed.

“If it wasn’t for this charity kitchen," she said, “we wouldn’t have been able to find an alternative for ourselves because everything is expensive and there are no humanitarian assistance coupons.”

Nearby, a camp for displaced Palestinians is filled with tents made from torn fabric and tarps, set against a backdrop of damaged and abandoned buildings.

“I’m scared the war would resume, and I hope the situation would improve and things get calm,” said Abdel Qader Saed, a displaced man from Jabaliya, “and that equipment to remove the rubble would be brought in so that if any of us went back home, we would be able to set up a tent for shelter.”