First Official EgyptAir Flight Lands in Tel Aviv

EgyptAir greeted with the traditional water sprays shot in the air in celebration of its first flight
EgyptAir greeted with the traditional water sprays shot in the air in celebration of its first flight
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First Official EgyptAir Flight Lands in Tel Aviv

EgyptAir greeted with the traditional water sprays shot in the air in celebration of its first flight
EgyptAir greeted with the traditional water sprays shot in the air in celebration of its first flight

EgyptAir made its first official direct flight to Israel and landed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport.

The Israeli Embassy in Cairo tweeted that direct flights are "an important and welcome sign of strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries, especially economic relations."

It welcomed the resumption of flights after a long suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sunday's flight was greeted with the traditional water sprays shot in the air in celebration. The Israeli embassy published photos of the arrival on its social media accounts.

Since Israel and Egypt signed a peace deal in 1979, flights between the two countries have been offered by a subsidiary of Egyptair, Air Sinai, created exclusively for that purpose in 1982.

Egyptair will now run four flights per week into Israel under its banner, Israeli Airport Authority (IAA) spokesman Ofer Lefler told AFP.

He called Sunday's landing "a historic first."

The move comes after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett visited Egypt last month for talks with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Thousands of Israeli tourists typically visit Egypt annually, including the Sinai desert and the Red Sea resorts.

Last month, Israeli media reported that the state-owned EgyptAir would start operating direct flights between Cairo and Tel Aviv, starting in early October.

Israeli Transport Minister Merav Michaeli announced her government lifted a daily cap of 1,200 Israelis allowed to pass through its Taba border crossing to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

"We have managed to find a way to both allow unlimited crossings and also observe coronavirus regulations,” The Times of Israel quoted the minister as saying.



Roadside Bomb Wounds Four in Iraq's Kirkuk

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
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Roadside Bomb Wounds Four in Iraq's Kirkuk

Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)
Security forces in Iraq. (AFP file photo)

A roadside bomb wounded four people in the northern Iraqi oil city of Kirkuk on Saturday, police sources said.
The bomb targeted a commercial district in the city center. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, according to Reuters.
Earlier in the week, four Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others injured in an ambush on an army convoy southwest of Kirkuk, which ISIS militants claimed responsibility for.
Despite the group's defeat in 2017, remnants continue to conduct hit-and-run attacks against government forces.