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As Virus Cases Rise in Egypt, Officials Lament Lack of Commitment to Measures

A man wearing a protective face mask reads the holy Koran in Cairo, amidst concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A man wearing a protective face mask reads the holy Koran in Cairo, amidst concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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As Virus Cases Rise in Egypt, Officials Lament Lack of Commitment to Measures

A man wearing a protective face mask reads the holy Koran in Cairo, amidst concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A man wearing a protective face mask reads the holy Koran in Cairo, amidst concerns about the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), Egypt, May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

While the Egyptian government blamed the increase in coronavirus infections on the lack of commitment to the government’s precautionary and medical measures, Egypt continues to repatriate all stranded nationals from several countries.

Authorities in Egypt said on Tuesday that a record high of 388 cases of COVID-19 infections was diagnosed in the previous 24 hours., while 98 patients recovered and checked out of the hospital.

Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad said in televised statements on Tuesday that the increase in cases that have appeared this week can be attributed to two factors. The first, he said, is due to the overcrowding that occurred the week before the holy month of Ramadan. The second is the drop in commitment to the government’s precautionary and medical measures.

Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli ordered authorities to buy seasonal influenza vaccines by the beginning of next winter to prevent any potential shortage, during a cabinet meeting on efforts to fight the coronavirus.

Madbouli ordered authorities to speed up the manufacturing of protective face masks needed to confront the coronavirus, saying the government will coordinate with factories to allocate special production lines for the masks as soon as possible.

"The specifications of the reusable masks will be determined and approved by the relevant authorities," he added.

During the meeting, Health Minister Hala Zayed said that average daily calls received by the ministry's hotline designated for the coronavirus came in at 3,560 last week: 3,000 inquiries, 200 reports, and 450 complaints and suggestions.

Wednesday, the Ministry of Manpower and Immigration announced the arrival of 174 stranded Egyptians from Khartoum and Dar es Salaam and a total of 596 from Kuwait.

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Israeli Strikes Damage Hospital in Lebanon

File photo: Destroyed houses that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
File photo: Destroyed houses that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Israeli Strikes Damage Hospital in Lebanon

File photo: Destroyed houses that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
File photo: Destroyed houses that were hit in an Israeli airstrike in Saksakiyeh village, south Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A hospital in the coastal Lebanese city of Tyre was damaged by Israeli airstrikes on nearby buildings that wounded 11 people, the health ministry said on Saturday.

The director of the Lebanese Italian Hospital told the state-run National News Agency (NNA) that it would "remain open to provide the necessary medical care" despite the damage.

Strikes destroyed two buildings nearby, an AFP correspondent saw, shattering windows and causing suspended ceilings to collapse in the hospital, the facility's management said.

A series of attacks hit the Tyre region on Saturday, including one on its port that struck a small boat and damaged others moored nearby, the AFP correspondent said.

Israel has been carrying out strikes across Lebanon and launched a ground invasion in the south after Hezbollah entered the war in the Middle East on the side of its backer Iran on March 2.

Tens of thousands of people have left Tyre, but around 20,000 remain, including 15,000 displaced from surrounding villages, despite Israeli evacuation warnings covering most of the city and a broad swathe of southern Lebanon.

The NNA also reported that Israeli forces abducted a man in Shebaa, near the Israeli border in the east, at around 3:00 am on Saturday.

Arab World

Indonesia Slams 'Unacceptable' Peacekeeper Casualties in Lebanon

FILE PHOTO: UNIFIL vehicles drive on a main road in Qlayaa, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UNIFIL vehicles drive on a main road in Qlayaa, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher/File Photo
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Indonesia Slams 'Unacceptable' Peacekeeper Casualties in Lebanon

FILE PHOTO: UNIFIL vehicles drive on a main road in Qlayaa, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: UNIFIL vehicles drive on a main road in Qlayaa, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Qlayaa, southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher/File Photo

The Indonesian government on Saturday slammed as "unacceptable" an explosion that injured three of its peacekeepers in Lebanon within days of three other blue helmets from the Southeast Asian nation being killed.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said three peacekeepers were wounded in a blast that occurred inside a UN facility near Adaisseh on Friday afternoon, and rushed to hospital.

Two were seriously wounded.

The UN Information Center in Jakarta said the "origin of the explosion" was unknown but identified the injured soldiers as Indonesian.

"Repeated attacks or incidents of this kind are unacceptable," the Indonesian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Regardless of their cause, these events underscore the urgent need to strengthen protection for UN peacekeeping forces amid an increasingly dangerous conflict situation."

The government urged the UN Security Council to investigate the events and "to immediately convene a meeting of troop-contributing countries to UNIFIL to conduct a review and take measures to enhance the protection of personnel serving with UNIFIL".

Friday's incident came just days after an Indonesian peacekeeper died when a projectile exploded on March 29 in southern Lebanon, where Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting since Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war.

A UN security source told AFP on condition of anonymity Tuesday that fire from an Israeli tank was responsible for that attack.

A day later, two more Indonesian peacekeepers died after an explosion struck a UNIFIL logistics convoy, also in southern Lebanon.

The father of one of the two fallen soldiers, 33-year-old Zulmi Aditya Iskandar, said this week he was shocked that peacekeepers were losing their lives in the conflict.

"We were really sad and regretful, because this is a UN troop, a peacekeeping troop, not deployed for war," 60-year-old Iskandarudin told reporters at his house in West Java province.

The bodies of the three peacekeepers are scheduled to arrive in Jakarta on Saturday evening, according to the military.

The Indonesian National Armed Forces has said it will deploy more than 750 personnel to Lebanon next month as part of the scheduled UNIFIL peacekeeping troop rotation.

Arab World

Strike Kills One Iraqi Fighter near Syria Border

Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Strike Kills One Iraqi Fighter near Syria Border

Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Mourners attend the funeral of members of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi, who were killed in an airstrike in the town of al‑Qaim near the Syrian border, amid heightened regional tensions due to the US-Israel conflict with Iran, in Baghdad, Iraq, March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

An attack killed one fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi on Saturday, the alliance said, blaming the US and Israel.

Iraq has been dragged into the war between the United States, Israel and Iran, with strikes targeting both US interests and pro-Iran groups in the country, reported AFP.

"This treacherous attack resulted in the martyrdom of one PMF fighter and the wounding of four others, as well as a member of the ministry of defense," said a short statement from the group, which is also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), adding it was a "Zionist-American attack".

The PMF is a coalition of armed groups -- formed in 2014 to fight extremists-- that is now part of Iraq's regular army, but also contains pro-Iran factions who have a reputation for acting independently.

PMF positions have been repeatedly targeted since the outbreak of war, with the group consistently blaming the attacks on the US and Israel.

According to the group's statement, the latest attack targeted a position in western Anbar province of the 45th Brigade, which belongs to the US-blacklisted, pro-Iran Kataeb Hezbollah group.

Kataeb Hezbollah is part of the umbrella movement known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which has been claiming daily attacks since the start of the war on US interests in Iraq and the region.

The Pentagon has said helicopters have carried out strikes against pro-Iran armed groups in Iraq during the war.

Washington has strongly denied claims it has targeted Iraqi security forces.