Egypt Former President Hosni Mubarak Dies

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak. (Reuters)
Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak. (Reuters)
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Egypt Former President Hosni Mubarak Dies

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak. (Reuters)
Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak. (Reuters)

Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak has died at the age of 91, state television said on Tuesday, weeks after undergoing surgery.

Mubarak ruled Egypt for 30 years until he resigned following mass protests against his rule in 2011.

He was jailed for years after the uprising, but was freed in 2017 after being acquitted of most charges.

State TV said Mubarak died at a Cairo hospital where he had undergone an unspecified surgery. The report said he had health complications but offered no other details.

One of his sons, Alaa, announced over the weekend that the former president was in an intensive care after undergoing surgery.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi offered condolences and praised Mubarak's service during the 1973 war with Israel. He announced three days of national mourning beginning Wednesday.

“The Presidency mourns with great sorrow the former President of the Republic, Mr. Mohammed Hosni Mubarak," he said in a statement. It referred to Mubarak as "one of the leaders and heroes of the glorious October war, as he assumed command of the Air Force during the war that restored dignity and pride to the Arab nation.”

Mohamed Hosni Mubarak was born on May 4, 1928 in the village of Kafr al-Meselha in the Nile Delta, the son of a government functionary.

He joined the Egyptian Military Academy after school before becoming an air force pilot, rising through the ranks to become air force commander. In 1975, he became vice president to Anwar Sadat.

Mubarak was thrust unexpectedly into office after Sadat was assassinated at a military parade in 1981. The burly former air force commander was never expected to become president but he proved a far more durable leader than anyone imagined at the time.

In power, Mubarak promoted Middle East peace and, from 2004, backed economic liberalization measures that delivered sturdy growth but which many ordinary Egyptians blamed for widening the gap between rich and power.

Mubarak won his first multi-candidate presidential election in 2005, but the outcome was never in doubt and his main rival came a distant second.

The former president had suffered from health problems in the waning years of his rule and went to Germany for gall bladder surgery in March 2010. Yet questions remained over who would succeed the ageing stalwart.

Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11, 2011, after 18 days of demonstrations by millions of Egyptians inspired by a peaceful popular revolution in Tunisia. The military took control pending democratic elections which were held in 2012.

He is survived by his wife, Suzanne, his two sons and four grandchildren.



Israel Permits 10,000 West Bank Palestinians for Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa

Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
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Israel Permits 10,000 West Bank Palestinians for Friday Prayers at Al Aqsa

Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer
Palestinians attend Friday prayers in a mosque following an attack that local Palestinians said was carried out by Israeli settlers, in the village of Deir Istiya near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank November 14, 2025. REUTERS/Sinan Abu Mayzer

Israel announced that it will cap the number of Palestinian worshippers from the occupied West Bank attending weekly Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in east Jerusalem at 10,000 during the holy month of Ramadan, which began Wednesday.

Israeli authorities also imposed age restrictions on West Bank Palestinians, permitting entry only to men aged 55 and older, women aged 50 and older, and children up to age 12.

"Ten thousand Palestinian worshippers will be permitted to enter the Temple Mount for Friday prayers throughout the month of Ramadan, subject to obtaining a dedicated daily permit in advance," COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry agency in charge of civilian matters in the Palestinian territories, said in a statement, AFP reported.

"Entry for men will be permitted from age 55, for women from age 50, and for children up to age 12 when accompanied by a first-degree relative."

COGAT told AFP that the restrictions apply only to Palestinians travelling from the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

"It is emphasised that all permits are conditional upon prior security approval by the relevant security authorities," COGAT said.

"In addition, residents travelling to prayers at the Temple Mount will be required to undergo digital documentation at the crossings upon their return to the areas of Judea and Samaria at the conclusion of the prayer day," it said, using the Biblical term for the West Bank.

During Ramadan, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians traditionally attend prayers at Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, located in east Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed in a move that is not internationally recognized.

Since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the attendance of worshippers has declined due to security concerns and Israeli restrictions.

The Palestinian Jerusalem Governorate said this week that Israeli authorities had prevented the Islamic Waqf -- the Jordanian-run body that administers the site -- from carrying out routine preparations ahead of Ramadan, including installing shade structures and setting up temporary medical clinics.

A senior imam of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Sheikh Muhammad al-Abbasi, told AFP that he, too, had been barred from entering the compound.

"I have been barred from the mosque for a week, and the order can be renewed," he said.

Abbasi said he was not informed of the reason for the ban, which came into effect on Monday.

Under longstanding arrangements, Jews may visit the Al-Aqsa compound -- which they revere as the site of the first and second Jewish temples -- but they are not permitted to pray there.

Israel says it is committed to upholding this status quo, though Palestinians fear it is being eroded.

In recent years, a growing number of Jewish ultranationalists have challenged the prayer ban, including far-right politician Itamar Ben Gvir, who prayed at the site while serving as national security minister in 2024 and 2025.


EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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EU Exploring Support for New Gaza Administration Committee, Document Says

Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians push a cart past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the two-year Israeli offensives, in Gaza City, February 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The European Union is exploring possible support for a new committee established to take over the civil administration of Gaza, according to a document produced by the bloc's diplomatic arm and seen by Reuters.

"The EU is engaging with the newly established transitional governance structures for Gaza," the European External Action Service wrote in a document circulated to member states on Tuesday.

"The EU is also exploring possible support to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza," it added.

European foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Gaza during a meeting in Brussels on February 23.


Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israel Military Says Soldier Killed in Gaza 

A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone view shows the destruction in a residential neighborhood, after the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the area, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, in Gaza City, October 21, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military announced that one of its soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Gaza on Wednesday, but a security source said the death appeared to have been caused by "friendly fire".

"Staff Sergeant Ofri Yafe, aged 21, from HaYogev, a soldier in the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Unit, fell during combat in the southern Gaza Strip," the military said in a statement.

A security source, however, told AFP that the soldier appeared to have been "killed by friendly fire", without providing further details.

"The incident is still under investigation," the source added.

The death brings to five the number of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza since a ceasefire took effect on October 10.