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Egypt to Impose Strict Lockdown Measures to Control COVID-19

Egyptian security man ensuring the implementation of coronavirus measures (AP)
Egyptian security man ensuring the implementation of coronavirus measures (AP)
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Egypt to Impose Strict Lockdown Measures to Control COVID-19

Egyptian security man ensuring the implementation of coronavirus measures (AP)
Egyptian security man ensuring the implementation of coronavirus measures (AP)

The Egyptian authorities will start implementing Sunday new strict measures to help limit the spread of new coronavirus during Eid al-Fitr until the end of the week, which was announced an official holiday for both private and public sectors.

The new measures include a nationwide curfew between 5 pm and 6 am, halting all public transportation between Egypt’s governorates, as well as closing all shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and public beaches.

The government is trying to reduce movement hours on Eid to avoid any possible crowds or gatherings.

Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Youssry Shaarawy discussed with the governors the preparations for Eid al-Fitr, stressing authorities should monitor the implementation of the decisions of the government regarding the prevention of gatherings.

Shaarawy told local officials that executive bodies must coordinate with security units to implement decisions preventing the spread of the coronavirus. He stressed that all crowding must be banned especially in the sidewalks of the coastal cities.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry announced that over 41,000 persons, including 40 cafes and about 14 thousand cars, motorcycles, and vehicles owners have violated lockdown measures over the past week.

In turn, Egypt’s Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar announced that university hospitals will be at their maximum readiness at all levels during the holiday to receive any possible cases.

He also announced that emergency and intensive care units will be fully equipped, as doctors and medical staff on call had been summoned to ensure the utmost readiness.

Abdel-Ghaffar stressed the need to ensure the availability of medicines, supplies, medical equipment, and the necessary quantities of blood bags and its derivatives in all university hospitals.

On Saturday, the health ministry reported 727 new coronavirus infections, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 16,513.

The total number of COVID-19 deaths has now reached 735 nationwide, after announcing 28 deaths, while 254 Egyptians have fully recovered, with the total number of recoveries from the virus rising to 4,628.

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Arab World

Palestinians Say Five Injured in Israeli Settler West Bank Attack

TOPSHOT - Israeli soldiers patrol a street during a military operation in the Askar refugee camp in eastern Nablus, Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 2, 2026. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Israeli soldiers patrol a street during a military operation in the Askar refugee camp in eastern Nablus, Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 2, 2026. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians Say Five Injured in Israeli Settler West Bank Attack

TOPSHOT - Israeli soldiers patrol a street during a military operation in the Askar refugee camp in eastern Nablus, Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 2, 2026. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Israeli soldiers patrol a street during a military operation in the Askar refugee camp in eastern Nablus, Israeli-occupied West Bank, on March 2, 2026. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Israeli settlers injured five Palestinians, including two with gunshot wounds, in a fresh attack against a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said Saturday, while the military reported a 'violent confrontation' in the area.

Palestinian news agency WAFA said a group of settlers attacked in the area of Rashayda, near the village of Kisan, "firing live ammunition".

Musa Abayat, the mayor of the area east of Bethlehem, told AFP that two people were hospitalized with gunshot wounds and three others beaten with sharp objects or hit by stones.

"The settlers also stole 100 sheep," Abayat said, decrying "daily attacks" by settlers in this part of the West Bank.

The Israeli military said there was a "violent confrontation" involving Israeli civilians who fired toward Palestinians.

"As a result of the incident, an Israeli civilian was injured and evacuated to the hospital for medical treatment," it said in a statement to AFP.

"Two additional Palestinians were evacuated by the Red Crescent for medical treatment."

Israeli police had detained two Israeli civilians who fired their weapons, while three Palestinians were also apprehended, the military added.

There has been a spike in deadly settler attacks in the West Bank in recent days, with at least five Palestinians killed since the start of March, according to Palestinian authorities and the United Nations.

Violence more broadly in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has also risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. It has continued despite a ceasefire since October 10.

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,045 Palestinians, many of them militants, but also scores of civilians, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

At least 45 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.

Arab World

Macron Urges Israel to Hold 'Direct Talks' with Lebanon amid More War Casualties

Firefighters and first aid responders work inside an apartment that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the Burj Hammoud area on the northern outskirts of Beirut on March 14, 2026. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
Firefighters and first aid responders work inside an apartment that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the Burj Hammoud area on the northern outskirts of Beirut on March 14, 2026. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
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Macron Urges Israel to Hold 'Direct Talks' with Lebanon amid More War Casualties

Firefighters and first aid responders work inside an apartment that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the Burj Hammoud area on the northern outskirts of Beirut on March 14, 2026. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)
Firefighters and first aid responders work inside an apartment that was targeted by an Israeli airstrike in the Burj Hammoud area on the northern outskirts of Beirut on March 14, 2026. (Photo by IBRAHIM AMRO / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said Lebanon was ready to engage in "direct talks" with Israel and offered to host negotiations in Paris.

"The Lebanese government has signaled its willingness to engage in direct talks with Israel," he said on X.

"France is ready to facilitate these talks by hosting them in Paris," Macron said, adding he had spoken to the president and prime minister of Lebanon.

He called on Israel to "seize this opportunity ⁠to launch ceasefire discussions, to find a lasting solution and to allow the Lebanese authorities to put in place their engagements for Lebanon's sovereignty."

Macron also urged Israel ⁠to ⁠stop its offensive and on Hezbollah to stop its actions.

"Everything must be done to stop Lebanon from descending into chaos," he said.

A photograph shows the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, on March 14, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

At least 12 medical personnel were killed in an Israeli strike on a healthcare center in the town of Borj Qalaouiya in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese state news agency reported on Saturday, citing the health ministry.

The Israeli army said that a day earlier it struck Hezbollah operatives "who were bringing rockets into a weapons depot" in Majdal, around seven kilometers from Borj Qalaouiya.

Also, an Israeli strike hit an apartment building in a northern Beirut suburb that had been targeted a day earlier, Lebanese state media said.

The National News Agency said "an Israeli strike targeted the Nabaa-Burj Hammoud area for a second day."

The same building had been struck on Friday without causing casualties.

The NNA also reported on Friday that Israeli shells hit a United Nations base hosting Nepali peacekeepers in the southern border town of Mais al-Jabal.

Arab World

Egypt Renews Call for Joint Arab Force, Warns of ‘Total Chaos’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt Renews Call for Joint Arab Force, Warns of ‘Total Chaos’

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt renewed calls to form a joint Arab force capable of effectively confronting threats and risks facing Arab states, warning of “the dangers of the conflict widening in the region and the possibility of sliding into comprehensive chaos.”

It also reaffirmed its solidarity with the Gulf states and rejected any attempt by non-Arab regional powers or actors outside the region to impose regional security arrangements on Arab countries.

The remarks came as Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty participated in the fourth joint ministerial meeting between Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council's foreign ministers, held virtually on Thursday evening.

The meeting was chaired by Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the current chair of the GCC ministerial council, and attended by GCC Secretary-General Jassim Albudaiwi.

In a statement on Friday, Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tamim Khallaf said Abdelatty reaffirmed Egypt’s “firm and strong support” for the “brotherly Gulf states” and its solidarity with them in confronting the “unacceptable and unjustified attacks” they faced from Iran in recent days.

He stressed Egypt’s “categorical rejection of any pretexts aimed at undermining the sovereignty or capabilities of the brotherly Gulf states, Jordan and Iraq,” saying “the security of the Gulf states is an integral part of Egyptian and Arab national security, and Egypt stands by its brothers in this delicate regional moment.”

Abdelatty also stressed the “utmost importance” of de-escalation, calming tensions and prioritizing diplomacy and dialogue. He underlined the need to ensure freedom of international maritime navigation and voiced “complete rejection of any attempts to obstruct it,” warning such moves would pose a direct threat to regional stability and global trade flows.

Khallaf said Abdelatty also renewed calls to activate Arab national security frameworks and deepen joint cooperation, urging swift practical steps and new mechanisms to safeguard the security and sovereignty of Arab states, including Gulf countries. These steps include accelerating the activation of the Arab League’s 1950 Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Treaty and forming a joint Arab force.

Abdelatty told a meeting of the Egyptian cabinet on Tuesday that Egypt is currently leading initiatives to establish a joint Arab force to protect Arab national security, according to Cairo News television.

GCC foreign ministers praised what they described as the “principled, strong and supportive positions” of the Egyptian leadership, particularly Cairo’s unequivocal condemnation of attacks targeting Gulf states and its declaration of full solidarity with them at this sensitive moment.

They also commended Egypt’s continued support for the Palestinian cause and its pivotal role in backing Arab issues, strengthening joint Arab action and safeguarding regional security and stability amid current challenges.

Khallaf said the ministers also reviewed institutional ties between Egypt and the GCC, praising the “qualitative leap” in relations since the signing of a memorandum of understanding on political consultations and the adoption of a joint action plan for 2024-2028.

They also highlighted momentum generated by the Egyptian-Gulf Trade and Investment Forum hosted by Cairo last November and discussed efforts to elevate relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership that would strengthen economic, trade and investment cooperation for the mutual benefit of the region’s peoples.