Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly speaks during a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart after their meeting at the Grand Serail, the headquarters of the Prime Minister, in Beirut on December 19, 2025. Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the curfew and said it would last for a month initially. Madbouly said Cairo must work on the “worst-case scenario” in the face of a war whose outcome is unpredictable. Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes through the waterway in peacetime. The rerouting of shipping away from the Suez Canal is also depriving Cairo of a vital source of foreign currency.

Source: Punch March 27, 2026 15:02 UTC