Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Sunday told a meeting of the Arab League in Cairo that opposing military intervention in Syria encourages the Damascus regime to "pursue its crimes."

"Opposition to international action only encourages the regime to pursue its crimes," the Saudi foreign minister told the Arab League meeting on the Syria crisis.

Al-Azhar in Cairo, Sunni Islam's highest authority, on Sunday declared its firm opposition to any U.S. strikes on Syria, saying this would amount to "an aggression against the Arab and Islamic nation.”

The institution in a statement "expressed its categorical rejection and condemnation of the decision by the American President (Barack Obama) to launch military strikes on Syria," to punish president Bashar Assad's regime for an alleged chemical weapons attack near Damascus last month that left hundreds dead.

A container ship in the Suez Canal was the target of a failed "terrorist" attack on Saturday aimed at disrupting traffic through the key waterway, the head of the Suez Canal Authority said.

Admiral Mohab Mamish confirmed that "a terrorist" had launched the attack against a Panamanian-flagged ship, adding in a statement that "the attempt failed completely and there was no damage to the ship or the containers it carried.”

Egypt is to shorten its night-time curfew by two more hours, pushing back the start time to 11:00 pm (2100 GMT) except on Fridays, the premier's office said Saturday.

A week ago the curfew was also cut by two hours.

Egypt's foreign ministry accused Gaza's Hamas rulers on Saturday of raiding an Egyptian cultural center in the Palestinian enclave and detaining several Egyptians.

"The foreign ministry strongly condemns and denounces this irresponsible act and demands their release," it said of the Egyptians it claimed Hamas arrested on Saturday morning.

Five civilians died in clashes in Egypt on Friday when opponents and supporters of ousted president Mohammed Morsi clashed in several cities, the health ministry said on Saturday.

Three were killed in clashes in the Giza district in Cairo, one in the canal city of Port Said and one in the Nile Delta province of Sharqiya, the ministry said in a statement.

Egyptian police were holding three foreigners working for Al-Jazeera television's English channel for a fourth day Friday, an executive of the Qatari broadcaster told Agence France Presse.

They have also seized equipment belonging to the Qatari station's Egypt affiliate.

Supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi vowed more rallies and called for marches on Friday despite a harsh police crackdown on their movement.

Thursday's call for further protests, as police continue rounding up Islamists, was immediately followed by an interior ministry warning that live ammunition will be used on protesters who attack public institutions.

Coptic Christians in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya are managing to restrain their anger despite a wave of devastating attacks on their churches and institutions by enraged Islamists.

Tensions are still running high more than two weeks after the attacks in the city some 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Cairo but there have been no calls for vengeance, nor any fiery rhetoric.

Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu on Wednesday warned against military action in Syria calling instead for "human intervention" and the need for more time for U.N. inspectors to conclude investigations.

"The violent crises in Syria (and Egypt) are crying out to people across the world: 'please help us!'" the foundation of South Africa's peace icon said in a statement.