U.S. Ambassador visits Rafah crossing, praise Egypt's role to reaching ceasefire
CAIRO – 29 January 2025: The United States Ambassador to Egypt Herro Mustafa Garg visited on Wednesday Arish city and the Rafah border crossing to follow up on the implementation of the ongoing ceasefire agreement and the opening of the Rafah crossing as stipulated in the agreement.
During her visit, the Ambassador met with Major General Khaled Megawer, Governor of North Sinai, expressed her gratitude to the Egyptian government for its role as a key partner in reaching the ceasefire agreement, and emphasized Egypt's critical role in ensuring regional stability.
In addition, Ambassador Herro Mustafa met with humanitarian agencies to ensure that U.S. emergency food assistance reaches civilians in Gaza.
The United States remains committed to working toward regional peace and security and implementing the ceasefire agreement, the U.S. Embassy's statement stipulated.
On Wednesday, January 15, an agreement has been approved to halt war in Gaza with Egyptian, American, and Qatari mediation, after nearly 15 months of suffering and violence that led to the killing of more than 46,707 Palestinian people.
The deal came into force on Sunday January 19, as three Israeli female prisoners were released, and other 90 Palestinian prisoners followed them after nearly 7 hours of waiting.
The spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida said that the movement made every effort to preserve the lives of prisoners held in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.
Also on Saturday 25 January, four Israeli soldier prisoners were released, in exchange of 200 Palestinian prisoners.
The four released soldiers were Karina Arif, Danielle Gilboa, Naama Levy, and Liri Elbag, according to the list published by Hamas, Friday.
The female soldiers appeared in military uniform and in good health alongside Hamas members on a platform set up in the square.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Egypt Today
34 minutes ago
- Egypt Today
President Sisi approves ‘Egypt is with You' initiative for children of martyrs, victims of Armed Forces
CAIRO – 15 June 2025: President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Martyrs and Victims Honoring Fund, Major General El-Sayed El-Ghaly, and the fund's Executive Director, Major General Ahmed Al-Ashaal. The fund honors the martyrs, the victims, the missing and the injured of military and security operations and terror attacks and their families. The president was briefed on the progress of the fund's activities and the services extended to beneficiaries, including the families of martyrs, victims, and those injured in military, terrorist, and security operations, in coordination with relevant state entities, said Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, in a statement. President El-Sisi was also updated on the fund's upcoming initiatives. The president emphasized the need to further improve the services offered by the fund, develop its resources, and enhance its management mechanisms to strengthen its ability to respond to the needs of its beneficiaries. The president approved the launch of the "Egypt is with You" initiative for the children of the martyrs and victims of the Armed Forces, Police, and civilians. This initiative focuses on investing the allocated funds to ensure the highest return for these minor children when they reach legal age, and is implemented in coordination with the Central Bank, the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, and Misr Insurance Company. President El-Sisi also approved the inclusion of martyrs and injured officers and other ranks from the Armed Forces in special operations, as well as civilian martyrs in previous wars, under the umbrella of the fund. The president stressed that Egypt will never forget the sacrifices of its loyal sons. Furthermore, the president directed the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to take the necessary measures to determine exemption and discount rates for various scholarships from public, private, and national universities, as well as private higher institutes, for the fund's beneficiaries. El-Sisi affirmed that the Egyptian people hold deep respect and appreciation for all their sons, the martyrs and the injured, who paid a heavy price for the Egyptian people to live in security and prosperity.
Al-Ahram Weekly
42 minutes ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Egypt rejects regional conflict escalation, urges end to Israeli operations: El-Sisi to Cypriot president - Foreign Affairs
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi emphasized Egypt's categorical rejection of any expansion of the cycle of conflict in the region, underscoring the crucial importance of ending Israel's military operations across all regional fronts. President El-Sisi made his remarks during a phone call with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides on Sunday. According to a presidential statement, El-Sisi warned that the current approach would have "serious consequences for all peoples of the region without exception." This comes as Israel launched a series of strikes across Iran on Friday that targeted nuclear and military infrastructure as well as residential areas, further complicating the regional situation. These attacks, which Tel Aviv justifies by claiming that Iran could produce a nuclear weapon, occurred despite ongoing Iran-US negotiations regarding the future of Tehran's nuclear programme. The president stressed the urgent need for the international community to urge regional parties to assume responsibility, reiterating that peaceful solutions are the "only means of ensuring security and stability in the region." He further highlighted the need to resume the US-Iran negotiations under the auspices of Oman, describing it as the "optimal solution for the ongoing tension." A new round of Iran-US nuclear negotiations, scheduled for Sunday in Oman, has been cancelled following the Israeli airstrikes, which led to retaliatory strikes from Iran for the third consecutive day. Egypt maintains its firm position on establishing a Middle East zone, free of mass destruction weapons, including all countries of the region, El-Sisi reiterated. He also asserted that a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian cause remains the "only guarantee' for achieving lasting peace and stability in the Middle East. This includes an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of captives and detainees, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on the 4 June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Al-Ahram Weekly
an hour ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
El-Sisi, IFC discuss boosting investment flows, financing Egypt private sector
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) discussed on Sunday boosting investment flows into Egypt and financing the private sector at competitive rates to reduce costs. The president's remarks came during a meeting with IFC Managing Director Makhtar Diop and IFC Vice President Ethiopis Tafara in the presence of Egyptian Minister of Planning Rania Al-Mashat, Presidential Spokesperson Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy said. During the meeting, President El-Sisi praised the IFC's cooperation with Egypt over the past years. He also highlighted Egypt's keenness to continue this cooperation, especially amid the current regional circumstances that impose significant challenges on development programmes, El-Shennawy added. Moreover, El-Sisi noted that Egypt is adopting structural and economic policies and reforms that support financial and economic stability. "Egypt targets increasing the private sector's role in economic activity and development and is working to enhance private sector confidence in the economy through various tax and customs incentives," the president stressed. President El-Sisi highlighted the government's initiatives to increase exports, develop productive and service activities, and expand public-private partnership (PPP) projects, the spokesperson noted. According to El-Shennawy, the IFC managing director also affirmed the corporation's commitment to fruitful cooperation with Egypt. He praised the economic reform steps taken by Egypt to enhance investor confidence and the investment climate. Furthermore, Diop affirmed the continuation of joint programmes between the two sides to strengthen cooperation and support the Egyptian economy's competitiveness. The IFC, established in 1956, is the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group. It is tasked with advancing economic development by investing in projects, providing asset management services, and encouraging investments in less developed countries. In 2024, the IFC announced a $150 million commitment to four investment and advisory projects in Egypt, including an advisory programme with Egypt's Universal Healthcare Insurance Authority (UHIA), a local currency swap agreement with Banque Misr, and a $100 million investment in Banque du Caire. The commitment also included an equity investment of up to $30 million and a $20 million co-investment envelope into SPE PEF III, a private equity fund managed by SPE Capital, to support mid-cap companies in Egypt, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. The IFC is also working with the Egyptian government to provide advisory services on introducing public-private partnerships at 11 airports to improve infrastructure, connectivity, and passenger services in the country's airport sector. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
