At least four members of the militant Islamist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis were killed in an explosion. An Egyptian security official, speaking anonymously to the Associated Press, said that an Israeli drone had killed five fighters, while the military publicly denied that there had been any cooperation with Israel. Accounts from people living in the area seemed to back the idea that the drone came from Israel, while the Israeli Defense Forces declined to comment.
The Egyptian Minister of Transitional Justice and Reconciliation, Muhammad Amin al-Mahdy, stated that without reconciliation and inclusion, Egypt’s unrest would continue. “The causes of the uprising of 25 January and 30 June were defects in the political and parliamentary composition of the state,” he continued. “That is what the Transitional Justice and National Reconciliation Ministry is currently seeking to fix through comprehensive political reform and by addressing all the deficiencies that were apparent in all previous elections.”
Turkey and Iran issued statements on the situation in Egypt, with Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul calling for a “quick return to democracy” through an “inclusive transition process.” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meanwhile questioned the involvement of outside major powers in Egyptian affairs. Relations between Egypt and both Iran and Turkey grew closer under former President Morsi, who made a historic trip to Tehran while in office.
As the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr continued, a vigilante movement to crack down on sexual harassment – which typically spikes on holidays – spread. A video showed one of the groups, called “Against Sexual Harassment,” stenciling “I am a harasser” onto a perpetrator’s shirt.