GCC Secretary-General Meets with NATO Military Committee Chairman
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi met with Chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.
The meeting came on the sidelines of 61st Munich Security Conference in the Federal Republic of Germany.
According to SPA, the two sides reviewed the latest regional and international developments, focusing particularly on the situation in Gaza and the wider region.
The GCC Secretary-General stressed the need to intensify international efforts to end the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, reaffirming the GCC's commitment to regional stability and international efforts to resolve humanitarian crises.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee emphasized the important role of the GCC states in maintaining regional and international security and stability, praising their status in regional and international forums.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
4 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Palestinians say local gunmen and Israeli forces opened fire near Gaza aid site
GAZA — Palestinians in Gaza say they were fired on once again as they headed to one of the aid distribution centres run by the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Monday. Witnesses said that for the first time they were fired on by Palestinian gunmen near the GHF site in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah, in the south. They also said Israeli troops fired on them. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said six people were killed and 99 injured from areas designated for aid collection. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The GHF said the Tal al-Sultan site did not open on Monday and that there were no incidents at two other sites which did hand out aid. It comes days after Israel's prime minister acknowledged that it was arming Palestinian clans in Gaza who were opposed to Hamas. Almost every day since the GHF began distributing aid on 26 May, there have been deadly incidents near one or other of the four centres it has so far opened. Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while approaching one site in the Tal al-Sultan area of Rafah on a route that runs through an Israeli military zone. In the previous incidents, witnesses have said that Israeli forces opened fire at crowds. The Israeli military has denied that troops fired at civilians within the site, but it has said that troops fired at "suspects" who ignored warning shots and approached them. In Monday's incident, people at the scene said that Palestinian gunmen shot at them, as well as Israeli forces. They said the gunmen appeared to be allied with the Israeli forces, as they were operating near them and moved back into an Israeli military zone. One witness told BBC Arabic's Middle East daily programme that he saw a group of young men dressed in civilian clothes and with their faces completely covered when he arrived in the area to get a box of food aid from the GHF site. "At first, we thought they might be Palestinian youths helping with the process, but suddenly, they began shooting at us," Hisham Saeed Salem said. "Even those who managed to get a box of aid were targeted and shot. We still don't know who these attackers are. They took everything from us - some even stole from us during the chaos," he added. Another man, Mohammed Sakout, said: "Several young men were shot and killed right behind me. I narrowly escaped death - some bullets passed just inches from my head." "At first, it was the Israeli army that was shooting at civilians. But today, we were shocked to discover the presence of gangs and militias," he added. At Nasser hospital in the nearby city of Khan Younis, a seriously injured man being treated for a gunshot wound to his neck, Mohammed Kabaga, told the Associated Press: "A group of masked armed men who were organising us starting firing towards us directly." "We went to get aid. They said to stand in line. We stood in line and suddenly they started shooting at us. While I was standing, I was surprised when a bullet hit me, I got dizzy and fell down," he said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that it was looking into the reports. The GHF said in a statement that it opened two sites on Monday in the Saudi neighbourhood of Rafah and Wadi Gaza, in the centre of the Strip, and that "aid distribution at both sites proceeded without incident". When asked by the BBC about the reports from Tal al-Sultan, a GHF spokesperson said there was "nothing around our sites". However, a post on the group's Facebook account did say on Monday afternoon that the Tal al-Sultan centre was closed due to the "chaos of the crowds". The GHF's interim executive director, John Acree, said it had delivered more than 11 million meals over the past two weeks "without an injury or major incident at our distribution sites". Gaza's health ministry said hospitals had received a total of 127 dead and 1,287 injured people from "areas designated for aid distribution" during the same period. The GHF, which uses US private security contractors, aims to bypass the UN as the main supplier of aid to Palestinians. The UN and other aid groups refuse to co-operate with the new system, saying it contravenes the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence. They also warn that Gaza's 2.1 million population faces catastrophic levels of hunger after an almost three-month total Israeli blockade that was partially eased three weeks ago. The US and Israel say the GHF's system will prevent aid being stolen by Hamas, which the group denies doing. The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,927 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry. — BBC
Arab News
21 hours ago
- Arab News
How Gulf ties became key focus of India's foreign policy over past decade
Ties with Gulf countries have become a key focus of India's foreign policy over the past 10 years, the latest report by the Council for Strategic and Defence Research shows, highlighting New Delhi's special focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Headquartered in the Indian capital, the CSDR is a think tank specializing in research on geopolitics, foreign policy, and military strategy. Its report published last month, 'From Trees to Forests: The Evolution of India-Middle East Ties post 2014,' highlights India's investment in bilateral relations with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which are independent of larger global frameworks. The effort to strengthen the connection started before Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, but it has gained momentum with his frequent visits to the six-member bloc comprising Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. 'In the last 10 years, India has substantiated this effort by filling crucial gaps in political, economic, and military contact with key states, with a special focus on Saudi Arabia and the UAE,' Bashir Ali Abbas, senior research associate at CSDR and the report's author, told Arab News. 'In the last 10 years, the Middle East has also emerged as a strategic space for India, with new defense relationships, and economic visions which also fit with the Gulf's own focus on economic diversification.' While India's relations with the Gulf region span centuries, it currently has the largest concentration of the Indian diaspora — about 9.7 million people. 'And India's top oil suppliers at any point in time inevitably are at least three Gulf states. This alone necessitates that India pay close attention to the region,' Abbas said. 'In India, policy makers and official decision-making institutions have updated their understanding of the region, but more importantly its changing nature. This evolved understanding has enabled the rise of new strategic partnerships, and PM Narendra Modi is the only Indian PM to have officially visited all six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council.' By 2018, the GCC became India's largest regional trading bloc, with an annual trade value of $104 billion in FY2017-2018. The volume that year surpassed India-ASEAN trade of $81 billion, and India-EU trade — $102 billion. Currently, it is even higher, with the Indian government estimating it at $162 billion in FY2023-24. In 2019, India became only the fourth state to establish a Strategic Partnership Council with Saudi Arabia, following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to New Delhi. During the Kingdom's presidency of the Group of 20 largest economies in 2020, the two countries started to forge partnerships and bilateral programs that saw further development as India took the G20 presidency in 2023. Over the past four years, the countries have since also engaged in a series of bilateral navy, air force and army exercises. 'Today, India sees Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner, with political and economic ties robust enough to also substantial cooperation in defense and security,' Abbas said. 'Given both India's own Viksit Bharat 2047 development vision and (the crown prince's) Vision 2030, India and Saudi Arabia are now driven by shared economic and strategic goals.' With the UAE, India signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in 2022, following which their bilateral trade grew to $85 billion in just over a year. The number of multi-sectoral memoranda of understanding between Indian and Emirati public and private entities has since reached over 80, according to the CSDR report. 'India also sought to reframe other bilateral relationships where fresh opportunities had arisen,' it said, adding that New Delhi was 'closing the Gulf circle,' with strategic partnerships signed with Kuwait during Modi's visit in 2024, and with Qatar during Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani's state trip to New Delhi in early 2025. The relations 'will certainly see a positive trajectory in the near and distant future — especially if it is backed up by greater avenues of intellectual contact,' Abbas said. 'Greater intellectual contact and an evolved popular understanding will enhance the strategic relationships between India and its Arab partners, through the injection of more ideas, perspectives, and actors who can work as champions for closer ties.'
Saudi Gazette
a day ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel says Hamas Gaza chief Sinwar's body identified
JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has said it has located and identified the body of Mohammed Sinwar, the military leader of the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza. His body was discovered in a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday. It said it had verified the body's identity through DNA checks — though Hamas has not publicly confirmed his death. Sinwar, 49, was killed in an air strike on 13 May, which the Hamas-run civil defense agency said killed 28 people and injured dozens. Sinwar's body was found alongside that of Mohammad Sabaneh, the commander of Hamas's Rafah Brigade, the IDF said. It added that "several items belonging to Sinwar and Sabaneh were located, along with additional intelligence findings that were transferred for further investigation". The IDF said other bodies were found, which it was looking to identify. It took a small group of foreign journalists into Gaza to Khan Younis to show them the tunnel on Sunday. It also published video of the small entrance to the tunnel, accessible through freshly dug earth just in front of the European Hospital. The footage shows a long, narrow underground corridor that leads to several rooms. Inside some of them, piles of clothes and plastic chairs are visible, with a rifle leaning up against the wall. One video also shows a shrouded body being pulled from the tunnel by a rope. IDF spokesperson Brig Gen Effie Defrin said that in one of the rooms they found the Sinwar's body. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," he said. Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of using hospitals as hiding places for weapons and command centers, which the group denies. The IDF has mounted sieges and attacks on hospitals in Gaza, or ordered their evacuation, leaving the territory's health system on the verge of total collapse. Such attacks have caused widespread international concern, as many hospitals and medical facilities have been put out of action — and the lives of patients and staff put at risk. In a statement after an Israeli strike on al-Ahli hospital in April, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep alarm and declared that, under international humanitarian law, the "wounded and sick, medical personnel and medical facilities, including hospitals, must be respected and protected". Hospital staff in Gaza have also repeatedly denied that Hamas is using their facilities as a base. The IDF will point to this latest footage as vindication of its claims and its military strategy. As with so much in Gaza, however, full independent verification is not possible. Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to the unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023 , in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 54,880 people have been killed in Gaza since, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. The renewed fighting in Gaza comes following the collapse of a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal a few months ago. Since then, Israel has restated its aim to destroy Hamas and recover the hostages, of whom 54 remain in captivity and 23 are thought to still be alive. Mohammed Sinwar joined Hamas shortly after its founding in the late 1980s and became a member of the group's military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades. He rose through the ranks and by 2005 he was commander of the Khan Younis Brigade. Sinwar was also reported to have been close to another of Hamas's previous military chiefs, Mohammed Deif, and had been involved in the planning of the 7 October attack. His brother and predecessor, Yahya Sinwar — believed to be one of the masterminds behind the 7 October attack — was killed by Israeli troops last October. — BBC
