Egypt air defenses on maximum alert
A file picture of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi who won the last election with 89.6 percent of the vote, against three unknowns
Cairo – Egypt’s air defenses were on “maximum alert” Sunday after Iran launched a drone and missile attack on Israel, a TV channel close to the intelligence services reported, as Cairo warned against an escalation of the conflict.
“A crisis cell … is closely monitoring the situation and submitting reports to President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi hour by hour,” Al-Qahera News said late Saturday, citing a senior security official.
The Egyptian foregn ministry said it was “deeply concerned” by the events, and called for “maximum restraint” by all sides.
Warning of the risk of a “regional expansion of the conflict,” the ministry said in a statement that it was “in direct contact with all the parties to the conflict to try to contain the situation.”
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October, Cairo has sought to walk a delicate tightrope between showing solidarity with the Palestinians while also maintaining its ties with Israel.
It has also hosted several rounds of negotiations seeking to agree a truce in the six-month war.