Many international brands are boycotted like KFC © Mena Today
On a recent evening in Cairo, a worker cleaned tables in an empty McDonald's restaurant. Branches of other Western fast-food chains in the Egyptian capital also appeared deserted.
All have been hit by a largely spontaneous, grassroots boycott campaign over Israel's military offensive in the Gaza strip since the deadly Hamas attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Western brands are feeling the impact in Egypt and Jordan, and there are signs the campaign is spreading in some other Arab countries including Kuwait and Morocco.
Participation has been uneven with only minor effects seen in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Europe this week for meetings on Israel's war in Gaza and a range of other issues, a U.S. official said on Tuesday, adding Witkoff will continue pushing for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.
A troubling pattern has emerged in the ongoing conflict in Gaza: the near-daily publication—often without verification—of casualty figures released by Hamas-controlled sources, presented as objective truth by major Western and Arab media outlets.
Recent remarks by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas raise serious concerns about the bloc’s understanding—and handling—of the war in Gaza.
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