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Egypt Reports First 3 Cases of Omicron

An employee sprays disinfectant as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus disease pandemic in front of Egyptian national flag at the State Council headquarters in Giza, Egypt October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
An employee sprays disinfectant as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus disease pandemic in front of Egyptian national flag at the State Council headquarters in Giza, Egypt October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Egypt Reports First 3 Cases of Omicron

An employee sprays disinfectant as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus disease pandemic in front of Egyptian national flag at the State Council headquarters in Giza, Egypt October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
An employee sprays disinfectant as a precautionary measure amid the coronavirus disease pandemic in front of Egyptian national flag at the State Council headquarters in Giza, Egypt October 19, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Egypt reported its first three cases of the new coronavirus variant Omicron, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"Two cases are not showing any symptoms, while the third suffers mild symptoms," the Ministry said.

Last month, Egypt suspended direct flights from and to southern Africa after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the new Covid-19 variant to be "of concern."

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said that 901 new coronavirus cases were detected in the past 24 hours, upping the total number of confirmed infections in Egypt since the beginning of the outbreak to 372,599.

In a statement, spokesman for the Health Ministry Hossam Abdel Ghafar said 31 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 21,234.

As many as 695 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 310,049, the spokesman said.

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Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
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Lebanon’s Supreme Defense Council Urges Hamas to Hand Over Suspects in Rocket Attacks

Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).
Lebanese Army personnel at the site of an Israeli strike targeting a militant group leader south of Beirut last week (AFP).

A senior Lebanese source has revealed that authorities will demand Hamas to hand over remaining individuals implicated in recent rocket attacks launched from Kfartebnit and Qaqaiyat al-Jisr—two towns located north of the Litani River, overlooking southern Lebanon—toward the Israeli settlements of Metula and Kiryat Shmona. The suspects are also believed to have stored rockets and launchers in a warehouse raided by the Lebanese Army, which seized several of the weapons, some prepared for imminent use.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that this demand will top the agenda of the first meeting of the Supreme Defense Council, scheduled for Friday and to be chaired by President Joseph Aoun.
The Council is also expected to discuss the security situation in southern Lebanon amid Beirut’s unilateral commitment to the ceasefire agreement, contrasted by what it views as Israel’s noncompliance. The session will further address recent incidents in which local residents blocked UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) from entering certain villages, citing the lack of coordination with the Lebanese Army. Additional topics include logistical, administrative, and security preparations by the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities ahead of the first round of municipal elections in Mount Lebanon this coming Sunday.
According to the source, the Lebanese Army’s intelligence directorate has, under judicial supervision, compiled a list of wanted Hamas members based on interrogations with detained suspects involved in the rocket attacks.
The source did not rule out the possibility that the suspects may have sought refuge in Palestinian refugee camps, particularly Ain al-Hilweh in southern Lebanon, where Hamas may be protecting them in neighborhoods controlled by extremist factions.
The source argued that Palestinian weapons have lost their original purpose of defending against Israeli attacks and are now largely used for internal conflict and endangering nearby communities.
Disarming Palestinian groups inside the camps, the source said, aligns with the insistence of both Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government that all arms remain under the state’s authority. The matter is also expected to feature prominently in upcoming talks between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and Lebanese officials during his mid-month visit to Beirut.
On broader security concerns, the source noted that Lebanon is stepping up containment measures around the camps to prevent the militarization of nearby towns, especially those close to the Litani River.
Regarding Sunday’s Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Beirut’s southern suburb, the source confirmed that the Lebanese Army had received no prior warning through the United States. Instead, Lebanese officials learned of the strike via media reports. This prompted Aoun to make urgent calls to several countries, including the US and France, which are considered guarantors of the ceasefire agreement. Subsequent information reportedly disproved Israel’s stated justification for the attack.