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.



Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the Hamas group Tuesday to stop giving Israel "excuses" to keep up its devastating offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed major strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that 58 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency called on Hamas to "cease making any irresponsible decisions to spare our people the consequences of (the Israeli) aggression".

The statement pointed to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. "Stop giving the occupation any excuses to continue its genocide," it said.

It called on Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, to "adhere to the official Palestinian position and the Arab initiatives".

French President Emmanuel Macron met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt in Cairo Monday, where they called for Abbas's Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza after a ceasefire, and for Hamas to have no role in post-war governance.

The Palestinian Authority is dominated by Abbas's Fatah movement, Hamas's longtime rival.

At their Cairo meeting, the three leaders called for an "immediate return" to the two-month ceasefire that effectively ended in March.

In its statement, the Palestinian presidency also denounced a newly established Israeli corridor in south Gaza as a violation of international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the creation of the Morag axis between the south Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah last week.

He presented the axis as a new Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land along the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt that the Israeli army has already cleared of buildings.

Witnesses told AFP Tuesday that Israeli forces were present on the axis, and had set up a surveillance crane equipped with a machine gun at one of its crossroads.