Egypt: Tarek Al-Zumar on Terror List for 3rd Time

Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Egypt: Tarek Al-Zumar on Terror List for 3rd Time

Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Tarek al-Zumar, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Court of Cassation, the highest judicial body in Egypt, upheld on Thursday a court ruling that enlists the former head of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Building and Development Party, fugitive Tarek al-Zumar, and 318 other defendants of the Sinai insurgency case, on the list of terrorist entities.

Zumar is accused of playing a pivotal role in the ISIS-affiliated “Wilayat Sinai”, providing financial support to the group from outside Egypt.

On Thursday, the Court rejected the defendants' appeal to a Cairo Criminal Court ruling, which enlisted the 319 defendants on the terror list.

“The Court of Cassation ruling is final and cannot be appealed,” judicial sources said.

The “Wilayat Sinai” case, which involves 555 suspected terrorists, is linked to attacks carried out by the terrorist organization in North Sinai.

In is the third time Egypt places the name of Zumar on its terrorist list.

The Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Zumar to death last September in the case known in the media as "Rabaa sit-in dispersal."

In March, an Egyptian court placed Zumar and 319 people on a terrorist list for their links to the "Second Wilayat Sinai."

Last November, the Cairo Criminal Court again placed his name among 164 names on Egypt's terror list, including Mohammed Shawki al-Islambouli, another fugitive in Turkey, Assem Abdelmajid, who is in Qatar, and others.

Zumar is included in a list of 59 terrorists announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in June after the four countries cut relations with Qatar over its support for terrorism.

He is being tried in absentia in Egypt.

Zumar was imprisoned in 1984, along with his cousin Abboud al-Zumar, over accusations of assassinating former Egyptian president Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat.



Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
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Arab League Chief Says Blocked by Israel from Visiting West Bank

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy. (Arab League)

The new secretary-general of the Arab League, Nabil Fahmy, said Wednesday Israel had blocked him from visiting Ramallah, in what would have been his first foreign visit since taking office this month.

The regional bloc's secretariat was informed by Palestinian authorities "of the Israeli occupation authorities' rejection of a visit... to the occupied Palestinian territories" to visit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Fahmy's office said in a statement.


RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
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RSF Drone Strikes on Civilian Vehicles Kill at Least 20 in Sudan, Rights Groups Say

Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
Sudanese women gather for a hot meal in al-Rahmaniyah camp for displaced people, near the city of el-Obeid in the southern Kordofan region on July 7, 2026. (AFP)

Drone strikes on civilian vehicles headed to social gatherings in Sudan have killed more than 20 people in recent days, rights groups said, as the use of unmanned aircraft becomes increasingly common in the northeastern African country’s war.

A drone strike on a road west of Omdurman on the outskirts of Khartoum on Tuesday killed 10 civilians, including five women from the same family, as they drove to a wedding, the Sudan Doctors Network said Wednesday.

The medical aid group, which has been tracking violence been the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces throughout the more than three-year war, blamed the attack on the RSF.

The vehicle immediately caught fire after the strike and all 10 people inside died, a witness told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The doctors group said the strike “was deliberate and carried out using a guided drone” and called for the international community to pressure RSF leadership to stop targeting civilians.

A separate drone strike on Tuesday hit a transport vehicle near a water facility in the province, killing two people, according to Emergency Lawyers, which tracks violence in Sudan.

The previous day, 13 civilians, including five women, were killed when a drone hit their vehicle as they headed to a wedding in al-Shaatout town, in North Kordofan province, Emergency Lawyers said.

“This attack is part of an escalating pattern of drone attacks on civilians as drones continue to fly over the northern parts of the province ... monitoring residents’ movements,” the group said in a statement.

North Kordofan has seen a surge in drone strikes amid international concerns about the RSF closing in on the strategic city of el-Obeid, which is home to the army’s 5th Infantry Division.

Drone strikes on the city have destroyed civilian infrastructure, including power facilities and neighborhoods, and targeted bridges and key supply routes, according to the UN.

The war in Sudan, which started in April 2023 after long-simmering tensions between the army and the RSF, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced some 13 million and pushed many parts of the country into famine. More than 30 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Kordofan and Darfur have been the epicenters of the war, but heavy fighting also has broken out across the Blue Nile State.

The army said in a statement Wednesday that it had recaptured the strategic border town of Kurmuk in Blue Nile State after heavy fighting with the RSF, claiming the paramilitary withdrew from the area, leaving behind weapons and military vehicles. The Associated Press couldn't indecently verify the army's claim.


Trump Says He Thinks Israel Will Withdraw Troops from Southern Lebanon

 An Israeli flag hangs from a building in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
An Israeli flag hangs from a building in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Trump Says He Thinks Israel Will Withdraw Troops from Southern Lebanon

 An Israeli flag hangs from a building in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)
An Israeli flag hangs from a building in Lebanon as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, in northern Israel, July 5, 2026. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he thought Israel would withdraw troops from southern Lebanon because it wanted to take that step, despite comments from Israel's leader indicating otherwise.

Trump told reporters at the ‌NATO Summit in ‌Ankara that he ‌had discussed ⁠a withdrawal with ⁠Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Yeah, I think they're going to. I think they want to," Trump said. "So we have a deal with Israel ⁠and Lebanon. Yeah, they'll leave. ‌And ‌I think it's going to work ‌out very well."

Netanyahu visited ‌Lebanese territory occupied by the Israeli military last week, telling soldiers that Israel would not withdraw from ‌the country's south as long as Iran-backed Hezbollah continued ⁠to ⁠pose a threat.

The Israeli and Lebanese governments on June 26 reached a security agreement mediated by the United States under which Israel will hand over two areas to Lebanon's army.