International mediators have stepped up efforts to prevent a new round of armed confrontation between Israel and the Islamist Hamas group, which runs Gaza, amid an escalation in violent protests along the border fence.

"The United Nations is talking to and working with all concerned to improve the lives of people in Gaza, particularly the most vulnerable," U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland said on social media platform X on Wednesday, a day after he met Hamas officials in Gaza.

Ahmed Eltantawy is a former Egyptian Member of Parliament who previously served as the chairman of Egypt’s al-Karama political party. In March 2023 he announced his intention to run in the upcoming Egyptian presidential election, stating that he planned to offer a “democratic” alternative to the current president.

A report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Tuesday says that the US has added Egypt to its list of countries believed to be using child soldiers.

According to the report, the designation by the State Department comes after a number of independent investigations, which found that Egypt's military has been conducting joint operations with allied militia groups in northern Sinai that recruit children.

An Egyptian businessman accused of bribing New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez for legislative favors was arrested at New York's JFK International Tuesday morning.

The arrest, the 40-year-old's lawyer said, came after Wael Hana voluntarily flew to the city to face the federal charges - part of a sprawling, three-part indictment filed by the US attorney’s office.

Egyptian authorities have detained at least 73 campaign volunteers for a challenger to incumbent President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi in the December election, a rights group said Tuesday.

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the detainees were volunteers working for presidential hopeful and critic Ahmed Altantawy. The dozens of supporters face a variety of charges including joining a terrorist group — government parlance for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood — and spreading false news. Seven of them remained in detention as of Monday, the group said.

After decades as one of the world’s largest recipients of United States foreign aid, the Egyptian government was nervous about how long the largess would continue at that level. But when the United States cut a sliver of the aid in 2017 over Egypt’s grim human rights record, stunning Cairo, Egyptian officials found an ally in Senator Robert J. Menendez of New Jersey.

Senator Robert Menendez denied the allegations levied against him by the Department of Justice. Last week, a grand jury indicted the powerful Senator on bribery charges. Investigators found hundreds of thousands of dollars said to be payments to access the Senator’s influence. 

Federal prosecutors charged Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife with violating corruption and bribery laws, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court Friday.