Egypt welcomed the support of the UN Security Council for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, after Tel Aviv announced it would prevent him from entering Israel for not condemning the recent Iranian strike against it.
Egypt also once again renewed its call for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Tamim Khallaf, expressed Egypt’s welcome of the Security Council’s support towards Guterres on Friday.
Khallaf reiterated Egypt’s full support and solidarity with the Secretary-General, who has sided throughout his term and professional career with the United Nations Charter and the international principles and values calling for respect towards international law, achieving justice, and maintaining the right to self-determination.
Israel bars Guterres from entry
The Israeli Foreign Minister announced that he will prevent Guterres from entering Israel, after he did not immediately announce his condemnation of the Iranian missile attack that struck Israel on Tuesday.
In response, the 15 members of the Security Council issued a statement on Friday which stresses the need for all UN member states to have a fruitful and effective relationship with the Secretary-General and to refrain from any action that would undermine his work and the work of his agencies.
War continues
Clashes between Hezbollah and Israel have only continued to escalate after Hezbollah carried out several attacks targeting Israeli military sites.
It also directed strikes at several points in Haifa, and bombed an Israeli base, artillery positions and a Merkava tank with several missiles.
The Israeli army continues to launch raids on Lebanon, having targeted various areas in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa on Friday morning.
It also launched raids on the vicinity of the Lebanese Masnaa crossing in the Bekaa region, cutting off a road used by hundreds of thousands to flee the recent wave of Israeli bombings.
In the early hours of Friday morning, Israel launched a series of raids targeting the area west of Baalbek, between the towns of Bodai and Shmustar, passing through the town of Taraya, and carried out another air raid on the town of Aitat in southern Lebanon.
A Lebanese security source told the Reuters news agency that rescue workers linked to Hezbollah were injured in the southern suburb as the result of an Israeli raid.
The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Israeli aircraft dropped about 73 tons of bombs on Thursday night on a Hezbollah headquarters in the southern suburb, targeting the candidate for the party’s leadership, Hashem Safi al-Din, the cousin of the late leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
And there is further threat of escalation in the tensions between Israel and Iran, after Tel Aviv threatened Tehran with a strong response to the recent missile strike.
