5 Gunmen Killed in Egypt’s Sinai, 14 Receive Death Sentence on Terrorism Charges

Damaged vehicles are seen after a bomb exploded at the Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed, Egypt November 25, 2017. (Reuters)
Damaged vehicles are seen after a bomb exploded at the Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed, Egypt November 25, 2017. (Reuters)
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5 Gunmen Killed in Egypt’s Sinai, 14 Receive Death Sentence on Terrorism Charges

Damaged vehicles are seen after a bomb exploded at the Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed, Egypt November 25, 2017. (Reuters)
Damaged vehicles are seen after a bomb exploded at the Rawdah mosque in Bir Al-Abed, Egypt November 25, 2017. (Reuters)

Egypt’s north Sinai witnessed a turbulent day on Sunday after three weeks of relative calm as the air force carried out a raid against terrorists, destroying a car south of the town of Rafah, according to security and tribal sources.

Five ISIS members were killed in the attack, two of them were identified as Ibrahim al-Freihat and Mahmoud al-Jabali.

In Arish, a lieutenant was also injured after an explosive device targeted an armored police vehicle at the entrance of the city.

Security forces discovered three explosive devices in North Sinai that were planted on the routes usually taken by the forces. They were immediately dismantled and no injuries were reported.

The security forces in northern Sinai managed Sunday to defuse and detonate nine explosive devices near the international road west of Arish, reaching the center of Bir al-Abed, without casualties.

A teacher was killed and another sustained injuries when unknown assailants opened fire on their bus along the Arish-Rafah International Road.

In Rafah, a soldier was injured during an armed attack on a checkpoint.

For four years now, the army and police have been engaged in an extensive crackdown on extremist militant groups in northern Sinai. The extremists have have stepped up attacks since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi following mass demonstrations against his rule in 2013.

The bloodiest attack was the "massacre of worshipers" that killed 311 victims, including 27 children, late November while they were performing Friday prayers at a mosque in the village of Rawda in Bir al-Abed.

Judicially, a military court sentenced on Sunday 14 people to death on charges of involvement in terror attacks.

The defendants were charged with attacking government buildings, planning to kill public figures and security officials and joining an outlawed group.

The tribunal in Alexandria, north of Cairo, sentenced 24 others to 25 years in prison in the same case.



Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
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Türkiye Begins Black Box Analysis of Jet Crash That Killed Libyan Military Chief and 7 Others

Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)
Libyan national flags fly at half-mast in Tripoli on December 24, 2025, after the head of Libya's armed forces and his four aides died in a plane crash in Türkiye. (AFP)

The technical analysis of the recovered black boxes from a jet crash that killed eight people, including western Libya’s military chief, began as the investigation proceeded in cooperation with Libyan authorities, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

The private jet with Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, four other military officials and three crew members crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Türkiye’s capital, Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said the cause of the crash was a technical malfunction on the plane.

The high-level Libyan delegation was on its way back to Tripoli after holding defense talks in Ankara aimed at boosting military cooperation between the two countries.

The wreckage was scattered across an area covering 3 square kilometers (more than a square mile), complicating recovery efforts, according to the Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya.

A 22-person delegation, including five family members, arrived from Libya early on Wednesday to assist in the investigation.


Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
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Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to hold the elections on schedule.

Aoun also emphasized that diplomatic efforts have continued unabated to keep the specter of war at bay, noting that "things are heading in a positive direction".

The agency also cited Berri reaffirming that the elections will take place as planned, with "no delays, no extensions".

The Lebanese parliamentary elections are scheduled for May next year.


Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)

Israel reacted furiously on Thursday to a condemnation by 14 countries including France and Britain of its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews.

"Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

"The cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalize eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing."

On Sunday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Fourteen countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, then issued a statement urging Israel to reverse its decision, "as well as the expansion of settlements".

Such unilateral actions, they said, "violate international law", and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza in force since October 10.

They also reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution... where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security".

Israel has occupied the West Bank following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.