A court in Egypt violated the country's international human rights obligations by sentencing 183 men to death Monday for killing 13 policemen, the European Union said.

"Today's decision of a court in Egypt to sentence 183 defendants to death following a mass trial is in violation of Egypt's international human rights obligations," the EU's foreign service said in a statement.

Hundreds of Hamas supporters marched in the Gaza Strip on Monday to protest an Egyptian court decision to declare the Islamic movement's armed wing as a banned "terrorist" group.

Waving the green flag of the movement, which is the de facto power in the coastal Palestinian territory, demonstrators chanted "Hamas is not terrorist" and "Hamas is our pride" during the rally in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya.

Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy's release from an Egyptian jail is "imminent," Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird told Canada's public broadcaster on Monday.

His spokesman confirmed the statement but declined to elaborate, as Canadian diplomats reportedly met their counterparts in Cairo to press the case, a day after another detainee and fellow Al-Jazeera journalist was released to Australia.

Australian journalist Peter Greste on Monday described his release from a Cairo prison as a big step forward for Egypt and but said he felt "incredible angst" for two colleagues still in jail.

"This is a massive step forward... I just hope that Egypt keeps going down that path with the others," Greste told Al-Jazeera in his first interview since leaving prison and flying to Cyprus on Sunday.

Egypt's release of Australian journalist Peter Greste removes a stumbling block for President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi as he seeks to shore up international support following a widely condemned crackdown on the opposition.

Secret police raided a Cairo hotel room used by Greste and fellow Al-Jazeera journalists Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed in December 2013, setting off a nightmare for the journalists and a public relations disaster for the government.

Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi faces a new espionage trial on February 15 for allegedly leaking "classified documents" to Qatar and Al-Jazeera television, a judicial source said Monday.

Morsi, ousted in July 2013 by the army, is already facing three other trials, including another case of alleged espionage, and could face the death penalty if ruled guilty.

Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan condemned on Monday the bus bombing that targeted Lebanese pilgrims in the Syrian capital Damascus, saying it is an attack that goes against moral, religious, humanitarian, and social values.

He said: “Terrorist and criminal acts against civilians contradict the true principles of Islam.”

An Egyptian court Monday confirmed death sentences against 183 men convicted of killing 13 policemen, in a verdict slammed as "outrageous" by rights group Amnesty International.

The verdict came as another court announced that deposed Islamist president Mohamed Morsi would stand trial on February 15 in an espionage case -- the fourth trial he is facing.

A wave of deadly attacks on soldiers in Egypt's Sinai has exposed Cairo's floundering strategy against jihadist insurgents in the peninsula despite an unprecedented offensive.

After carrying out their first attacks following Egypt's 2011 uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak, militants launched a campaign against the government in earnest after the overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013.

Australian journalist Peter Greste will keep fighting to free his colleagues still jailed in Egypt, his family said Monday, after he was released following more than 400 days in prison on charges of backing the Muslim Brotherhood.

Greste, an award-winning correspondent for Al-Jazeera English television, flew to Cyprus with brother Michael after his release from Cairo's Tora prison on Sunday, Egyptian officials told AFP.