Free Republic

Hamas has once again refused to release the hostages it has been holding in Gaza since its attack on Israel last October, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. The State Department on Monday released a readout following a call between Blinken and Abdelatty, which took place on Sunday and which dealt with the situation in the Middle East and Sudan. “The Secretary noted that Hamas has once again refused to release even a limited number of hostages to secure a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza,” said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller,...

Egypt has offered to evacuate thousands of its citizens from Libya after Islamic State (Isis) released pictures showing 21 kidnapped Egyptian Christians paraded in orange jumpsuits. Egypt said it had no choice but take urgent measures on Friday with Isis expanding fast across Libya, its war-stricken neighbour. “We are helping them,” Cairo’s foreign ministry spokesman, Badr Abdelatty, said. “If they would like to come back from Libya, we are facilitating their return to their home country.” The Coptic Christian guest workers were kidnapped in Sirte, on Libya’s coast, by Isis units based there in two operations in December and January....