logo

OPEN// Egyptian, Qatari FMs discuss latest developments in Gaza, efforts to restore ceasefire

Middle Easta day ago
CAIRO, July 1 (MENA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty on Tuesday discussed over the phone with Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and the joint efforts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to resume the ceasefire and spare Palestinian lives.
They also discussed the need to secure the release of hostages and detainees, and ensure the urgent and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Abdelatty also reviewed Egypt's ongoing preparations to host the Early Recovery and Reconstruction Conference for Gaza, which is scheduled to be convened immediately upon the conclusion of a ceasefire agreement, in coordination with the Palestinian government and the United Nations.
The call also addressed recent developments regarding the ceasefire between Iran and Israel, with both sides stressing the importance of consolidating the truce, de-escalating tensions, and advancing diplomatic efforts.
Abdelatty reiterated Egypt's support for the resumption of negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, as well as for all efforts aimed at fostering security and stability throughout the Middle East.
The two ministers also discussed various aspects of ties between Egypt and Qatar.
Abdelatty commended the positive momentum in bilateral relations, underlining the deep-rooted bonds and solid ties that serve the mutual interests of the two brotherly nations. (MENA)
R R N/
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EU Sets 90% Emissions Cut by 2040
EU Sets 90% Emissions Cut by 2040

See - Sada Elbalad

time2 hours ago

  • See - Sada Elbalad

EU Sets 90% Emissions Cut by 2040

Israa Farhan The European Commission is set to propose a new legally binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, marking a key milestone in the European Union's long-term strategy to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. This anticipated legislation follows a 2023 recommendation by the Commission calling for a 90% cut in emissions compared to 1990 levels. The new proposal, expected on Wednesday, would turn that advisory target into a binding commitment for all EU member states. Currently, the EU mandates a 55% reduction in harmful emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The latest data from May shows that the bloc is on track to reach a 54% reduction by the end of the decade, narrowing the gap to the official 2030 target. The European Commission has urged national governments to fully implement their climate strategies to ensure that emission goals are met on schedule. These climate targets are aligned with the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, which seeks to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. As part of its obligations under the agreement, the EU must submit a comprehensive climate action plan through 2035 before the COP30 UN Climate Conference in Brazil this November. The overarching goal remains achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, balancing any emissions released with those absorbed naturally or through advanced technologies. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan Technology 50-Year Soviet Spacecraft 'Kosmos 482' Crashes into Indian Ocean News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence"

No respite for Gaza - World - Al-Ahram Weekly
No respite for Gaza - World - Al-Ahram Weekly

Al-Ahram Weekly

time2 hours ago

  • Al-Ahram Weekly

No respite for Gaza - World - Al-Ahram Weekly

Despite growing speculation over an imminent ceasefire backed by Trump, Israel pressed ahead with a new wave of military escalation in the Gaza Strip As of Sunday Israel began issuing new evacuation orders and intensifying airstrikes. Thousands of Palestinians fled eastern Gaza City after the Israeli Army warned of a broad and imminent offensive in the area. Warnings posted on social media announced that military operations would escalate and advance westward into Gaza City's centre. Residents in several densely populated neighbourhoods were instructed to evacuate to Al-Mawasi, a congested coastal suburb in southern Gaza overwhelmed by overcrowding and a severe lack of basic services. Intensive airstrikes and gunfire hit homes, schools, markets, and tents sheltering displaced people. At least 28 Palestinians were killed and 223 injured on Monday, including 10 in Zeitoun neighbourhood east of Gaza City, with hundreds believed to be trapped under the rubble, health authorities reported. As the bombardment intensifies, Gaza's humanitarian crisis deepens. In the besieged enclave, childhood is no longer marked by milestones but by the daily fight for survival. Even searching for food can prove fatal. According to Palestinian medical sources, more than 66 children have died of malnutrition and starvation. Only 17 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially functional, and none are operational in northern Gaza or Rafah, in the far south. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), an average of 112 children are admitted to hospitals in Gaza on a daily basis for treatment of moderate to severe malnutrition. The alarming surge, the agency said, is directly linked to the prolonged Israeli blockade and the breakdown of humanitarian access since the beginning of 2025. As scenes of mass civilian casualties continue to come out of Gaza, diplomatic momentum is once again building in Cairo, where renewed efforts are underway to broker a possible ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. US President Donald Trump called on both Hamas and Israel to 'make the deal in Gaza' and demanded the immediate return of the hostages, in a post published on Truth Social early Sunday. However, Palestinians remain deeply skeptical about the feasibility of such an agreement ending the 20-month-long war that has left 75 per cent of Gaza in ruins. President Trump's remarks come amid renewed engagement by both Egyptian and Qatari officials working to revive a multi-phase deal that would include a ceasefire, a hostage exchange, and the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The revived framework, backed by Washington, is being reintroduced as regional and international mediators race against time to achieve a compromise that would please both Israel and Hamas. Building on those diplomatic efforts, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has put forward a new ceasefire proposal, calling for a 60-day truce tied to the release of Israeli hostages and the expedited flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. He described the initiative, in televised comments, as a vital entry point to a broader and more permanent resolution to the conflict. Abdelatty emphasised the importance of solid international guarantees, particularly with US support, to ensure the ceasefire is respected and prevent renewed violence. 'We are working towards a durable solution and a permanent ceasefire,' he said. Abdelatty also reaffirmed Egypt's rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians and called for an immediate end to the ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza. Cairo, he added, remains prepared to host further international discussions aimed at rebuilding Gaza and shaping its post-war future. Meanwhile, US Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Cairo in the next few days for what sources described as a crucial round of negotiations. The planned visit announced last week is part of ongoing efforts to broker a ceasefire and finalise a long-stalled agreement for the release of the hostages held in Gaza. In a coordinated regional drive, Doha has intensified its engagement with key mediators ahead of the upcoming negotiations. Qatari Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said Qatar is actively working with both Egypt and the United States, urging all parties to build on the current diplomatic momentum. According to Israeli sources, the latest US-backed proposal, presented to Israel by Witkoff, calls for the immediate launch of a 60-day ceasefire. During the first week of the truce, Hamas would release 10 living Israeli hostages and the remains of 18 others in two separate phases. Israeli officials estimate that, of the 58 hostages still believed to be in Gaza, about 20 are alive, while the remaining 38 are presumed dead. During the two-month truce, mediators would work to secure a broader agreement to bring the war to a complete end. Should the parties agree on a framework to end hostilities, the deal would pave the way for the release of all remaining hostages, both alive and dead. According to details shared by Israeli sources, the proposal outlines a phased redeployment of Israeli forces in parallel with the hostage releases. On the first day of the ceasefire, following the handover of the initial group of hostages, the Israeli military would begin repositioning in northern Gaza and along the Netzarim Corridor, in line with pre-agreed humanitarian access routes. A second redeployment would take place around day 7, after the next group of hostages is released, this time focusing on southern Gaza. Final troop positions, the sources said, are expected to be determined during the course of the negotiations, with technical teams from all sides coordinating the mapping and movement plans. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that his government has agreed to the general outline of the latest ceasefire and hostage-release framework put forward by Witkoff. His statement marks a rare public alignment with the ongoing mediation efforts as diplomatic momentum appears to be building ahead of Witkoff's visit to Cairo. For its part, Hamas has shown cautious openness to Witkoff's revised ceasefire proposal but stopped short of accepting it. In a statement on its official website, the group said it remains open to dialogue with mediators over any plan that guarantees a lasting ceasefire, full Israeli withdrawal under international supervision, the unimpeded delivery of aid, reconstruction, and a meaningful prisoner swap. In a related statement, senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on Sunday that ceasefire negotiations remain stalled due to Israel's insistence on continuing the war. He stressed that a ceasefire and withdrawal are non-negotiable conditions, and warned that Hamas would reject any proposal that undermines the resistance or includes calls for its disarmament. Palestinian-American mediator Bishara Bahbah has emerged as a key player in the ongoing ceasefire negotiations taking place in Cairo. According to reports dated 26-28 June, Bahbah has been in close contact with Hamas representatives as well as Witkoff, helping to bridge the gaps between parties. Sources say two of the three major sticking points have now been resolved, with Bahbah emphasising that negotiators are focused on finalising the language of the deal, which would include a phased hostage release, a sustained ceasefire, and a US-guaranteed mechanism for humanitarian access. Palestinian political analyst Akram Atallah told Al-Ahram Weekly that Hamas is facing a tough dilemma: the movement could have accepted the current ceasefire proposal several months ago, potentially to spare Palestinians further destruction, famine and a mounting daily death toll: 'We see signs of hesitation and confusion within Hamas, but the pressure on the movement is immense. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire, and Hamas almost has no other option left. People need peace, food, and medicine.' Asked whether the current diplomatic push could prove fruitful, Atallah said that all parties involved have a strong interest in ending the fighting. Hamas, he noted, is under immense pressure – people are hungry, sick, and exhausted – while Israel has so far failed to achieve its key objectives, particularly the recovery of hostages held by Hamas, through military force. 'Everyone seems hopeful,' he said, 'but it ultimately depends on what Israel really wants.' Over the course of 20 months, at least 56,531 Palestinians have been killed and 133,642 injured by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip as of 7 October, 2023, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. * A version of this article appears in print in the 3 July, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:

Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 14 as Trump teases ceasefire push - War on Gaza
Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 14 as Trump teases ceasefire push - War on Gaza

Al-Ahram Weekly

time2 hours ago

  • Al-Ahram Weekly

Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 14 as Trump teases ceasefire push - War on Gaza

Gaza's civil defense agency said that Israeli strikes killed at least 14 people on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump urged Palestinian group Hamas to agree to a 60-day ceasefire. After nearly 21 months of war which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million people, the Israeli military said this week it had expanded its operations. In southern Gaza on Wednesday, civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that five members of the same family were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli air strike that hit a tent housing displaced people in the coastal Al-Mawasi area. AFP images from the nearby Nasser Hospital, in Khan Yunis city, showed medics treating young children covered in blood. Some appeared terrified while others lay still on hospital beds in bloodied bandages and clothes. Despite being declared a safe zone by Israel in December 2023, Al-Mawasi has been hit by repeated Israeli strikes. Further north, Bassal said that four people from the same family were killed in a pre-dawn Israeli air strike on a house in Gaza City, and another five in a drone strike on a house in the central Deir el-Balah area. 'End the war' On Tuesday the military said that in recent days its forces had expanded operations across Gaza, claiming 'eliminating dozens of terrorists and dismantling hundreds of terror infrastructure sites'. After months of stalled mediation efforts to bring an end to the war, Trump on Tuesday said on social media that a new ceasefire proposal has Israel's support. 'Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the War,' Trump said. He added that Qatari and Egyptian mediators, who have been in direct contact with Hamas throughout the war, would deliver 'this final proposal'. 'I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better -- IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.' Trump is due to host Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House next week. Since 7 October 2023, Israel's genocidal war in Gaza has killed at least 56,647 people, most of them women and children, with over 132,000 others injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The United Nations confirmed that these figures to be reliable. * This story was edited by Ahram Online Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store