Dozens Injured after Bus Overturns in Sharm el-Sheikh

A bus overturned in Sinai (The Directorate of Health and Population in Suez)
A bus overturned in Sinai (The Directorate of Health and Population in Suez)
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Dozens Injured after Bus Overturns in Sharm el-Sheikh

A bus overturned in Sinai (The Directorate of Health and Population in Suez)
A bus overturned in Sinai (The Directorate of Health and Population in Suez)

A bus overturned in South Sinai, injuring 47 people, including children, on Monday, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population.

The Ministry announced in a statement that 26 ambulances had been dispatched to the site of the accident on Oyoun Mousa in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The Ministry stated that the initial outcome indicates that 47 passengers were injured, 43 were transferred to General Suez Hospital, and four were transferred to Ras Sedr Hospital.

The Directorate of Health and Population in Suez announced that the General Hospital received 43 injured people, including seven Palestinians.

It explained that the bus was coming from Alexandria en route to Sharm El-Sheikh, pointing out that it immediately dispatched ambulances to the scene.

The injuries varied between fractures and bruises.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health and Population in Suez, Ismail el-Hefnawi, followed up on the injured. He directed health institutions to provide care to the wounded.

The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in South Sinai, Ayman Rakha, said in a press statement that the injured people transferred to Ras Sedr Hospital were in stable condition, and all radiology and medical analyzes are being conducted to ensure their safety.

The bus belongs to one of the private tourism companies in Alexandria, which told Asharq Al-Awsat that the bus was carrying passengers to Sharm El-Sheikh, as part of the company's domestic tourism program during the mid-year vacation.

The company refused to provide any details about the causes of the accident and the number of passengers inside the bus at the time of the accident.

Road traffic accidents in Egypt record high rates.

According to official figures issued by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, 2021 witnessed 7,101 deaths due to road accidents, a 15.2 percent increase compared to 2020, which saw 6,164 deaths.

In 2021, 51,511 were injured, a 9.3 percent drop from the previous year, which recorded 56,789 injuries.

Accidents cause dozens of deaths annually due to speed, road conditions, or poor application of traffic laws.



Israeli Army Plans to Remain in Gaza Until End of 2025

Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Israeli Army Plans to Remain in Gaza Until End of 2025

Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians search the rubble of a house targeted by an Israeli army strike in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Despite the debate in Tel Aviv between the political leadership and the military establishment over the objective of the fighting in Gaza, sources on Friday confirmed that the two sides agreed on the principle of “continuing and even escalating the war” in the Palestinian enclave.

The political leadership says that defeating Hamas is Israel's main goal while the military leadership says it is a mistake to prioritize fighting over the release of the hostages.

A military official in Tel Aviv said that during high-level security consultations with senior ministers and military officials held early on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan for the army to remain in the Gaza Strip until at least the end of the year.

The plan will become official on Sunday, following a vote by the government cabinet, the official said.

He noted that the Army is expected to call up thousands of reservists as it readies for a significant expansion of its ongoing military operation in Gaza.

Netanyahu also approved a reserve call-up and the movement of troops between the West Bank, Syria and Lebanon, the official added.

He said that calling up reservists was being carried out solely out of “practical and operational interests,” amid mounting letters signed by more than 200,000 veterans calling for a hostage deal with Hamas.

The military official said that the Israeli army’s most important mission remains returning the 59 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza, roughly 24 of whom are presumed alive, while collapsing the group’s rule over the Strip was secondary, contrary to the position of Netanyahu, who said on Thursday that “victory” over the group, not the return of the hostages, was the supreme objective of the war in Gaza.

“The supreme mission that the Israeli army is dealing with is our moral duty to return the hostages. The second mission is defeating Hamas. We are working to advance both goals, with the return of the hostages being at the top (of the list of priorities),” the military official said.

Following the multi-hour security meeting with Netanyahu, an Israeli official told the Ynet news site, “As long as Hamas does not release our hostages, we will significantly deepen our military action. That is what will happen unless Hamas agrees at the last moment to a deal and releases the hostages.”

Last Monday, Hebrew media outlets said Israel rejected a five-year truce proposal with Hamas in exchange for the release of all remaining hostages.

Observers said Netanyahu is now more than ever determined to continue the war. The PM is convinced that a ceasefire will open the door to an internal war aimed at overthrowing his government.

The only obstacle to Netanyahu’s plan remains the position of President Donald Trump’s administration which is pushing for a Gaza ceasefire deal ahead of the President’s mid-May Middle East tour.

Political sources in Tel Aviv said Netanyahu aims to influence Trump's thinking and convince him to endorse his plans for continuing the war in Gaza.