Skip next section Blinken arrives in Cairo
09/18/2024September 18, 2024
Blinken arrives in Cairo
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Cairo for his 10th trip to the Middle East since the beginning of the war in Gaza.
He will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, but his mission to promote a cease-fire is likely to be complicated by an attack on members in Lebanon a day earlier.
“He’ll be meeting with Egyptian officials about a number of things, but squarely on the agenda is how we get a proposal that we think would secure agreement from both parties,” said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Miller said the US was “not involved” in the attack and “not aware of this incident in advance.”
Israel has yet to comment on the pager explosions.
Repeated attempts at peace talks have been hampered by both Israeli and Hamas leaders’ refusal to budge on key issues.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kjw9
Skip next section UN to vote on occupation resolution
09/18/2024September 18, 2024
UN to vote on occupation resolution
The General Assembly is set to adopt a Palestinian-drafted resolution calling for an end to Israel’s “unlawful presence” in the occupied West Bank within the next 12 months.
Since 1967, the Israeli occupation of the West Bank has been considered illegal under international law, including by Israel’s allies. In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israeli settlements there illegal.
The move at the UN General Assembly comes ahead of a major gathering of world leaders at the UN, including scheduled addresses by both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on September 26.
https://p.dw.com/p/4kjw3
Skip next section Pager explosions kill nine in Lebanon
09/18/2024September 18, 2024
Pager explosions kill nine in Lebanon
At least nine people, including a child, were killed in when exploded across the country.
“About 2,750 people were injured… more than 200 of them critically,” Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad said.
More than a dozen people were also wounded in Syria, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a “dangerous and deliberate Israeli escalation.”
Israel has not commented on the incident.
es/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
https://p.dw.com/p/4kjw0
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