CAIRO: Flowers, teddy bears and a proliferation of red hearts have plastered shop fronts in Cairo as Egyptians this week rekindled their annual love affair with Valentine’s Day.
Feb. 14 is one of the most celebrated events in Egypt despite the country’s at times conservative culture and the fact it is largely a Western tradition. Across the country, restaurants, hotels, florists and taxi drivers rush to cash in. But there have also been the annual grumblings from conservatives condemning the date’s popularity.
On Monday, Dar El-Ifta, the Egyptian government body founded to represent Islam and a center for Islamic legal research, said for the first time that Valentine’s Day is not forbidden in Islam.
This has led to a split in opinion on Egyptian talk shows, with channels such as Al-Haya and CBC airing debates questioning whether or not it is appropriate for a religious body to interfere in such matters.
“There are many foreign holidays that are ignored in Egypt, but Valentine’s Day is one that caught on because it hits a very important emotion with Egyptians — love,” Rola Kharsa, a TV presenter and author, told Arab News. “Love was never considered taboo in Egypt, I think it was just the fact that it was Western. But over the years, thanks to TV and especially thanks to social media, Valentine’s Day has become accepted within all social classes.”
As far back as the 1950s, Egypt had its own version of Valentine’s Day on Nov. 4. This was set by Mustafa and Ali Amin, founders of the publishing house “Akhbar Al-Yom” after publishing a poll in their paper asking people when they thought it should be celebrated.
But the date never caught on in the same way as the Western date of Feb. 14, even though it was known as “Hearts Day” up until the last decade.
In Cairo, the frenzy for the modern Valentine’s Day starts at least a week ahead of Feb. 14.
Florists raise their prices to extortionate levels, with the cost of a bouquet starting at $17 up to $55. And unlike the rest of the year, there is no room to haggle because demand is so high.
“February is the most profitable month of the year for me thanks to Valentine’s Day,” Sherif, a florist in the upscale Zamalek neighborhood, told Arab News. “But I don’t just like it because of the business. I think that it is nice that there is a day that celebrates love, and it makes me happy to see so many people in my shop buying my flowers to give to the ones they love.”
Hotel restaurant reservations also fill up quickly and offer special Valentine’s menus that — while delicious — cost much more than during the rest of the year.
“I think Valentine’s Day is such a big deal because of the fact that we’re a society that is caught between trying to be too open-minded and being like ‘Americans or Europeans,’ and the other extreme which considers it taboo,” Aya, a student at the American University in Cairo, said. “Most people in Egypt used to only celebrate birthdays, so what happens is that because people are so desperate to have someone to spend Valentine’s Day with, they also try to make it not so taboo by making it a big national event.”
While Valentine’s Day is being celebrated by more and more people of all social classes around the country, some hard-line conservatives are still against it, along with all other non-Muslim holidays.
Abu Islam, a controversial Salafist preacher sparked outrage in 2013 when he referred Valentine’s Day as “adultery day” that was only celebrated by Christians.
This mentality — while not as widely expressed as it was in 2013 before the conservative President Mohamed Morsi was in power — is still heard in some parts of Egyptian society.
But with Egyptians continuing to embrace Western celebrations and holidays and making them their own, it appears to be declining.
“My daughter just received flowers from an admirer,” said Sharbat, a domestic cleaner from the poor Imbaba neighborhood in Cairo. “Other than the fact that they are overpriced, I have no problem with it. In fact, every year I see the shops advertising Valentine’s Day more than the last.”
Egypt’s love affair with Valentine’s Day
Egypt’s love affair with Valentine’s Day
Sirens in north Israel after army detects Iranian missiles
- Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war
- Iran has not formally accepted a ceasefire
The Israeli military reported two missiles fired from Iran mid-morning on Tuesday, leading sirens to blare in the north several hours after US President Trump announced a ceasefire plan.
“Two missiles were launched from Iran and they were intercepted,” a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity, with the army saying people could leave shelters around 15 minuutes after the first alert.
Trump announced a phased 24-hour ceasefire process beginning at around 0400 GMT Tuesday, which Israel said it had agreed to. Iran has not formally accepted a ceasefire.
Israeli defence minister orders attacks on Iran after ceasefire 'violation'
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday he had ordered the country’s military to respond forcefully to what he said was Iran’s violation of a ceasefire with Israel.
The directive followed an announcement by the military that it had detected missile launches from Iran towards Israel.
Less than three hours earlier, US President Donald Trump had said that the ceasefire was now in effect.
Katz said the military had been instructed to carry out high-intensity operations against targets in Tehran.
Israel and Iran accept ceasefire
Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by US President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a retaliatory limited missile attack on a US military base in Qatar.
The acceptance of the deal by both sides came after Tehran launched a final onslaught of missiles targeting Israel that killed at least four people early Tuesday morning, while Israel launched a blitz of airstrikes targeting sites across Iran before dawn.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had agreed to a bilateral ceasefire with Iran in coordination with Trump.
UN condemns ‘weaponization of food’ in Gaza
GENEVA: The United Nations on Tuesday condemned Israel’s apparent “weaponization of food” in Gaza, a war crime, and urged Israel’s military to “stop shooting at people trying to get food.”
“Israel’s militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,” the UN human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing.
“Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.”
The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine.
The UN said in May that “100 percent of the population” of the besieged territory were ” at risk of famine.”
The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF — an officially private effort with opaque funding — over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned in the briefing notes of “scenes of chaos around the food distribution points” of the GHF.
Since the organization began operating, “the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities,” he said.
He pointed to reports that “over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organizations.”
“At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents,” he said.
“Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account.”
Kheetan cautioned that the system “endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
“The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law,” he warned.
The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation.
“The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food,” Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel “allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.”
“It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors,” he said.
And he called on other countries to “take concrete steps to ensure that Israel — the occupying power in Gaza — complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population.”
Oman Air resumes flights as Iraq, Syria reopen airspace after Iran-Israel truce announcement
- Iraq reopened its airspace 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel conflict
DUBAI: Oman Air announced on Tuesday the resumption of flights, as Iraq and Syria reopened their airspace following Israel and Iran’s acceptance of a ceasefire plan to end their 12-day war that had destabilized the region.
Iraq reopened its airspace 12 days after closing it amid the Iran-Israel conflict, aviation authorities confirmed. The Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority said the move came “following a comprehensive assessment of the security situation and coordination with relevant national and international authorities.”
The reopening of airspace and resumption of flights is expected to ease regional flight disruptions and allow airlines to resume more direct and efficient routes.
Gaza rescuers say Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid
- Thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations in Gaza, as famine looms across the territory after more than 20 months of war
GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defense agency said Israeli forces killed 21 people waiting for aid near a distribution site in the center of the Palestinian territory on Tuesday, the latest deadly incident targeting aid-seekers.
Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that 21 people were killed and around 150 wounded “as a result of the Israeli occupation forces’ targeting of gatherings of citizens waiting for aid... in the central Gaza Strip with bullets and tank shells” in the early hours of Tuesday.
AFP has contacted the Israeli military for comment on the incident.
Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities in the Palestinian territory.
Bassal added that five people were killed and several injured in an Israeli air strike that targeted a house in Gaza City at dawn.
Thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations in Gaza, as famine looms across the territory after more than 20 months of war.
According to figures issued on Saturday by the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, at least 450 people have been killed and nearly 3,500 injured by Israeli fire while seeking aid since late May.
Many of those have been near sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, according to rescuers.
The privately run foundation’s operations in Gaza have been marred by chaotic scenes. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with it over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
Israel’s opposition leader on Tuesday called for an end to the war in Gaza, after Israel announced it had agreed to a ceasefire with Iran.
“And now Gaza. It’s time to finish it there too. Bring back the hostages, end the war,” Yair Lapid wrote on X.
Over 40 people, including children, killed in Sudan hospital attack, says WHO chief
- Saturday’s attack on the Al Mujlad Hospital took place in West Kordofan, near the front line between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces
GENEVA: Over 40 people, including children and health care workers, were killed in an attack on a hospital in Sudan at the weekend, the head of the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
Saturday’s attack on the Al Mujlad Hospital took place in West Kordofan, near the front line between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for attacks on health infrastructure to stop, without saying who was responsible.
