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Egypt Warns of Moves to Derail Gaza Deal, Fragment Reconstruction

Palestinians walk past makeshift shelters at the Nuseirat camp for displaced people in Gaza (AFP)
Palestinians walk past makeshift shelters at the Nuseirat camp for displaced people in Gaza (AFP)
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Egypt Warns of Moves to Derail Gaza Deal, Fragment Reconstruction

Palestinians walk past makeshift shelters at the Nuseirat camp for displaced people in Gaza (AFP)
Palestinians walk past makeshift shelters at the Nuseirat camp for displaced people in Gaza (AFP)

Efforts by mediators to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement are intensifying, as Egypt issues fresh warnings that the process could be obstructed just days before it is due to take effect in January.

Egypt’s position, which rejects fragmenting reconstruction, dividing the Gaza Strip, or accepting Israeli conditions regarding stability forces in the enclave, carries important messages aimed at pressuring Israel ahead of a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Dec. 29, experts told Asharq Al-Awsat.

They expect Washington to press for the launch of the second phase in light of those Egyptian messages.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Friday that Germany would not take part, for the foreseeable future, in an international force for stability in Gaza under the enclave’s peace plan, which is expected to be deployed next month.

The move has reinforced Egyptian concerns voiced by Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, who accused Netanyahu of trying to reframe the second phase and confine it to a demand to disarm the resistance, something not stipulated in the agreement and well understood by the United States.

He pointed to Israeli efforts to involve a stability force in roles beyond its mandate, such as disarmament, which participating countries would not accept.

Rashwan said on Thursday, according to state-owned Al Qahera News television, that Netanyahu’s attempts could delay or slow implementation but would not succeed in stopping the second phase.

He added that Netanyahu was seeking by all means to avoid moving to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and to push Washington into a confrontation with Tehran, which could reignite Gaza and derail the second phase.

On Thursday, Israel’s Ynet news site quoted a military source as saying Netanyahu would brief Trump on intelligence about the threat posed by Iranian ballistic missiles during their expected meeting before the end of the year.

The source said Israel might be forced to confront Iran if the United States fails to reach an agreement to curb Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Mokhtar Ghobashy, Secretary-General of the Al-Farabi Center for Political Studies, stated that the Egyptian statements were clear and explicit, conveying messages to Israel and Washington ahead of the anticipated visit.

He said that when Egyptian anger reaches the level of direct messaging, Washington considers the need to reach a point of convergence between Cairo and Tel Aviv.

Palestinian political analyst Nizar Nazzal said the Egyptian statements carry genuine messages and concerns about Israel entrenching the status quo from a security rather than a political perspective, in the hope that Washington would move seriously to put an end to it.

Egypt’s position extends beyond expressing concern to include explicit warnings. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said on Thursday in an interview with Egyptian television that there were two red lines in Gaza.

The first is rejecting any separation between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which he said was impossible as both constitute an indivisible unit of the future Palestinian state. The second red line is rejecting any division of the Gaza Strip.

He added that talk about dividing Gaza into red and green zones, or about areas under direct Israeli control receiving food, water and reconstruction while 90 percent of Palestinians elsewhere are denied basic needs under the pretext of Hamas’ presence, is absurd, will not happen and will not be agreed to.

Ghobashy stressed that when Egypt declares red lines, it marks a firm boundary, noting that there are unacceptable violations on the ground from Cairo’s perspective.

He said Cairo was deliberately sending these messages at this time in the hope of strengthening the mediators’ path toward launching the second phase soon, especially since Washington can impose its will if it chooses, particularly when it comes to pressuring Israel to halt actions obstructing the agreement.

Israel Hayom newspaper reported on Thursday that the anticipated meeting between Netanyahu and Trump would conclude with a statement on progress toward the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Rashwan said that all indicators show the US administration has settled on starting the second phase in early January. He added that Trump’s reception of the Israeli prime minister on Dec. 29 likely signals the actual launch of the second phase without ambiguity.

Nazzal expects Netanyahu, in his meeting with Trump, to try to push a narrative of maintaining Israel’s presence along the yellow line, dividing Gaza and starting reconstruction in the part under Israeli control.

But he said Egypt’s warning messages are a preemptive step to avert any new obstacles or US-Israeli alignment that could disrupt the agreement’s course.

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Arab World

A Man Detonates Explosive Belt during Arrest Attempt in Iraq, Injuring 2 Security Members

A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)
A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)
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A Man Detonates Explosive Belt during Arrest Attempt in Iraq, Injuring 2 Security Members

A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)
A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said. (Reuters/File)

A man wearing an explosives belt blew himself up Friday while a security force was trying to arrest him in western Iraq near the Syrian border, killing himself and wounding two security members, an Iraqi security official said.

The raid was being conducted in the al-Khaseem area in Qaim district that borders Syria, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The official added that “preliminary information” confirms that no members of the security forces were killed, while two personnel were injured and transferred for medical treatment, The Associated Press said.

Iraq’s National Security Agency said in a statement that its members besieged a hideout of an ISIS group security official and two of his bodyguards. One bodyguard ignited his explosives belt, killing him. It gave no further details.

ISIS once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014. The extremist group was defeated on the battlefield in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019 but its sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in both countries.

In December, two US service members and an American civilian were killed in an attack in Syria that the United States blamed on ISIS. The US carried out strikes on Syria days later in retaliation.

US and Iraqi authorities in January began transferring hundreds of the nearly 9,000 ISIS members held in jails run by the US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria to Iraq, where Iraqi authorities plan to prosecute them.

Arab World

UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Allege Surge in Israeli Violence toward Them

United Nations Spanish UNIFIL forces arrive to inspect chalets, after the Israeli army reportedly booby-trapped and blew them up at dawn, on the outskirts of the town of al-Khiam, southern Lebanon on January 31, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
United Nations Spanish UNIFIL forces arrive to inspect chalets, after the Israeli army reportedly booby-trapped and blew them up at dawn, on the outskirts of the town of al-Khiam, southern Lebanon on January 31, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
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UN Peacekeepers in Lebanon Allege Surge in Israeli Violence toward Them

United Nations Spanish UNIFIL forces arrive to inspect chalets, after the Israeli army reportedly booby-trapped and blew them up at dawn, on the outskirts of the town of al-Khiam, southern Lebanon on January 31, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
United Nations Spanish UNIFIL forces arrive to inspect chalets, after the Israeli army reportedly booby-trapped and blew them up at dawn, on the outskirts of the town of al-Khiam, southern Lebanon on January 31, 2026. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)

UN peacekeepers patrolling southern Lebanon have faced a dramatic surge of “aggressive behavior” by Israeli forces over the last year, including drone-dropped grenades and machine-gun fire, according to an internal report seen by The Associated Press.

The report by one of the 48 nations that together have more than 7,500 peacekeepers in southern Lebanon says the number of incidents jumped from just one in January to 27 in December. The hilly frontier zone where the UNIFIL force patrols has seen decades of cross-border violence. Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants fought a full-scale war in 2024.

The targeting of peacekeepers appears aimed at undermining the international force and strengthening Israel’s military footprint along the UN-drawn border with Lebanon, known as the Blue Line, the report alleges. It was shared with AP on condition that the news organization not identify the country whose peacekeepers compiled the findings for internal use by their senior command.

Israel has long mistrusted UNIFIL, accusing it of failing to prevent Hezbollah from building up its military presence along the border in violation of ceasefire agreements going back two decades.

The growing catalog of run-ins comes as a half-century of international peacekeeping efforts along the border face an uncertain future. UNIFIL’s mission is scheduled to end this year and US President Donald Trump ’s administration regards it as a waste of money.

Israel says it tries to reduce harm

In a statement to AP, the Israeli military said it “is not conducting a deterrence campaign against UNIFIL forces" and is working within accepted frameworks to dismantle Hezbollah, largely based in southern Lebanon.

The military “takes steps to reduce harm to UNIFIL forces and other international actors operating in the area,” it said.

UNIFIL said in a statement that “the number of attacks on or near peacekeepers, as well as aggressive behavior toward peacekeepers, have increased since September 2025,” with most of those incidents attributed to the Israeli military.

“The majority of incidents do not involve physical harm to peacekeepers, but any action that interferes with our mandated activities is a matter of concern,” it said.

The UN force has reported additional incidents this year. An Israeli tank opened fire with small-caliber bullets on a UNIFIL post on Jan. 16, it said. This week, it reported that a drone dropped a stun grenade that exploded in the vicinity of a peacekeeping patrol before flying toward Israeli territory.

Report details array of incidents

The report seen by AP details multiple instances in 2025 of grenades being dropped by Israeli drones near UNIFIL patrols, including an attack in October that wounded a peacekeeper, as well as machine-gun fire near UNIFIL positions. In some cases, UNIFIL vehicles were damaged.

The last four months of 2025 also saw a surge in incidents of direct fire at all targets from Israeli positions on both sides of the Blue Line, the report says. Such incidents spiked to 77 in December, up from just two in January, it says.

UNIFIL vehicles and positions are clearly marked as belonging to the UN, and Hezbollah militants have not maintained a visible presence or fired on Israeli forces in recent months.

The report says “it cannot be excluded” that Israel is using the incidents to maintain a military presence north of the border and prevent people who have fled the zone from returning.

Israel-Hezbollah conflict

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas -led attack on Israel that triggered war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.

Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, later reined in but not fully stopped by a US-brokered ceasefire two months later.

Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild in the south, in violation of the ceasefire, and has carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says target Hezbollah militants and facilities. Israeli forces also continue to occupy five hilltop points on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah has claimed one strike against Israel since the ceasefire.

Spraying of chemicals spurs an outcry

The UN and Lebanon say Israeli forces dropped herbicide on Lebanese territory on Sunday, forcing a more than nine-hour pause in peacekeeping activities, including patrols.

“The use of herbicides raises questions about the effects on local agricultural lands, and how this might impact the return of civilians to their homes and livelihoods in the long-term,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said. There was no Israeli comment.

Dujarric added that “any activity” by the Israeli military north of the Blue Line violates a UN resolution adopted in 2006 that expanded the UNIFIL mission, in hopes of restoring peace to the area after a monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Uncertain future for border area UNIFIL was created nearly five decades ago to oversee Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after its troops invaded in 1978.

The UN Security Council voted last August to terminate its mission at the end of 2026.

Israel had long sought an end to its mandate, saying UNIFIL failed to keep Hezbollah away from the border. Under the 2006 UN ceasefire, the Lebanese army was supposed to maintain security in the south with backing from UNIFIL and militants were to disarm.

Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon have frequently accused UNIFIL of collusion with Israel and have sometimes attacked its patrols.

The Lebanese government says UNIFIL serves a necessary purpose. Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said in December that Lebanon will need a follow-up force to fill the vacuum and to help Lebanese troops along the border as they expand their presence there.

In an AP interview this week, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said several proposals are under discussion.

One possibility is an expansion of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, or UNTSO, which maintains a small observer force in Lebanon. The European Union has also offered to contribute to an international observer force, he said.

Whatever the arrangement, Mitri said: “We need a neutral, internationally mandated force to observe and make sure that whatever is agreed upon in negotiations is fully respected."

Arab World

France to Rally Aid for Lebanon as It Warns Truce Gains Remain Fragile

This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)
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France to Rally Aid for Lebanon as It Warns Truce Gains Remain Fragile

This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)
This handout photograph released by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot (L) at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, on February 6, 2026. (Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Office / AFP)

France said on Friday that Lebanon's recovery remains precarious despite positive signs following a ceasefire and government transition, and it stood ready to support the country's reconstruction if it continues with reforms.

French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot, addressing reporters after meetings in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and other top officials, said France was prepared to host a dedicated conference in Paris on reconstruction, but only if reforms continue, legislation is passed ‌and decisions ‌are implemented.

While Lebanon has adopted ‌banking ⁠secrecy and ‌bank resolution laws, it must still complete restructuring, reach an IMF agreement and pass a loss-sharing law, Barrot said. He also urged swift action on Hezbollah disarmament and national reconciliation.

Barrot said Lebanon had reached a crucial juncture in implementing the November 2024 truce with Israel, as well as restoring ⁠state authority over weapons and stabilizing a shattered financial system.

France, the ‌country's former colonial power, plans ‍to mobilize international backing for ‍the Lebanese armed forces and internal security forces at ‍a separate conference scheduled for March 5 in Paris.

"Lebanon must work to restore confidence - that of its citizens, businesses, depositors, and the diaspora," Barrot said.

France's immediate focus was ensuring respect for the ceasefire, which he emphasized "implies that Israel withdraws from Lebanese territory, in accordance with its ⁠commitments, and that civilians are protected from strikes," alongside implementation by Lebanese authorities of an agreed-upon arms monopoly plan.

Lebanon has pledged to bring all arms in the country under state control, in line with the 2024 agreement that ended a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel, and has asserted control over areas of the country closest to the border with Israel. But Hezbollah has warned the government that pressing on with efforts to disarm ‌the group throughout the country would trigger chaos and possibly civil war.