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.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a stark and personal threat to Hezbollah leader Naïm Kassem on Thursday, after dozens of rockets were fired at northern Israel at the start of the Jewish Passover holiday.
One month into the resumption of open warfare between Hezbollah and Israel, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam delivered a frank admission: his government is intensifying diplomatic efforts to end the fighting, but the war goes on.
Emmanuel Macron has spoken. The Strait of Hormuz will not be forced open by military means. It would be "unrealistic," he told reporters during a trip to South Korea, a location that, one must admit, puts him admirably close to the action.
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