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British Airways Resumes Cairo Flights after Security Review

A British Airways passenger plane on the tarmac. AFP file photo
A British Airways passenger plane on the tarmac. AFP file photo
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British Airways Resumes Cairo Flights after Security Review

A British Airways passenger plane on the tarmac. AFP file photo
A British Airways passenger plane on the tarmac. AFP file photo

British Airways said Thursday it would resume flights to Cairo following a week-long suspension, having reviewed its security measures.

BA flights to and from the Egyptian capital will start again on Friday, it said in a statement.

The flag carrier suspended flights on Saturday as a precautionary measure.

"Following a thorough assessment of the security arrangements, we are pleased that our service to and from Cairo will resume from Friday," BA said.

"The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we would never operate an aircraft unless it was safe to do so."

German carrier Lufthansa also said it was suspending flights to Cairo from Munich and Frankfurt just for last Saturday.

The airlines, two of the biggest in Europe, gave little explanation as to what triggered the moves.

Egypt's aviation ministry said on Sunday that British Airways took the move without consulting Egyptian authorities.

An executive of Egypt's state-owned EgyptAir said earlier this week that BA's decision was "without a logical reason" while Egypt's aviation minister, Younis Al-Masry, also expressed "displeasure" at the decision.

An estimated 415,000 British nationals visited Egypt in 2018.

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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
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Israeli Strikes Kill 12 in Lebanon, including 5 Hezbollah Fighters

Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.
Women walk near destroyed buildings, with one holding the flag of Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, after an Israeli military spokesperson said that Israel would keep troops in several posts in southern Lebanon past the deadline for them to withdraw, February 18, 2025 - Reuters reported.

Heavy Israeli airstrikes killed 12 people, including five Hezbollah fighters, in eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, a security source in Lebanon said, in what Israel said was a warning to the Iran-backed group against trying to re-establish itself.

The Israeli military said the airstrikes targeted training camps used by elite Hezbollah fighters and warehouses it used to store weapons in the Bekaa Valley region of eastern Lebanon.

The airstrikes were the deadliest on the area since a US-brokered ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel last November. Bachir Khodr, governor of the Bekaa region, said seven of the dead were Syrian nationals.

Israel dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in last year's conflict, killing its leader Hassan Nasrallah along with other commanders and destroying much of its arsenal.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday's strikes sent a "clear message" to Hezbollah, accusing it of planning to rebuild the capability to raid Israel through the elite Radwan force, Reuters reported.

Israel "will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding", he said. He added that strikes were also a message to the Lebanese government, saying it was responsible for upholding the ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate public response from Hezbollah or from the Lebanese government to the latest Israeli strikes.

The United States has submitted a proposal to the Lebanese government aimed at securing Hezbollah's disarmament within four months in exchange for Israel halting airstrikes and withdrawing troops from positions they still hold in south Lebanon.

Under the terms of the ceasefire brokered by the US and France, Lebanon's armed forces were to confiscate "all unauthorized arms", beginning in the area south of the Litani River - the zone closest to Israel.