Al-Sisi says Egypt, Greece set to sign deal to boost ties
'Our relations are traditional and historical. We have the basis to enhance this relationship,' said al-Sisi during a televised meeting with Greek President Constantine Tassoulas in Athens. 'We will have today the chance to sign a joint declaration for a strategic partnership.'
Al-Sisi is due to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, more than a year after they agreed to set up a cooperation board of senior officials from both countries to improve ties.
The two leaders were expected to reaffirm their joint stance over the need to respect international law to promote peace in a turbulent region amid the ongoing war in Gaza, a Greek government official said.
Migration was also expected to top the agenda of bilateral talks as European governments have long been worried about the risk of instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million people where economic adversity has pushed increasing numbers to migrate.
Egypt largely shut off irregular migration from its north coast in 2016, but the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant arrivals, mostly from Afghanistan and Egypt.
The European Union last year announced a 7.4 billion euro ($8.40 billion) funding package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt, in part of a push to stem migrant flows from Egypt to Europe. Last month, its executive arm included Egypt, where human rights have come under scrutiny, on a list of 'safe countries' where failed asylum seekers could be returned.
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
A look at Gaza ceasefire talks after Hamas accepts a new proposal from Arab mediators
CAIRO: Hamas says it has accepted a proposal from Arab mediators for a ceasefire in the 22-month war sparked by its Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. Israel has not yet responded and says it is still committed to defeating the militant group. The latest proposal developed by Egypt and Qatar contains only slight modifications to an earlier one advanced by the United States and accepted by Israel, according to Egyptian and Hamas officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. The deal would include a 60-day truce, the release of some of the hostages held by Hamas in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, a flood of humanitarian aid into Gaza and talks on a lasting ceasefire. Israel has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed. President Donald Trump gave support to those goals Monday in a social media post, saying Hamas must be 'confronted and destroyed' to ensure the return of the remaining hostages. A ceasefire, a hostage release and an influx of aid The details of the latest proposal have not been made public, but the two Egyptian officials and two Hamas officials described the broad outlines to The Associated Press. There would be a 60-day ceasefire in which Israeli forces would pull back to a buffer zone extending 800 meters (875 yards) into Gaza. The officials said Trump's Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, had proposed 1,500 meters (1,640 yards) and Hamas countered with 600 meters (656 yards) before the talks stalled last month. Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases, in exchange for the release of around 1,700 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, including 200 serving life sentences after being convicted of deadly attacks. Hamas-led militants took 251 people hostage in the Oct. 7 attack and killed around 1,200, mostly civilians. Fifty hostages are still in Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israel would allow 600 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter each day, a major increase that could help arrest what experts have described as the territory's slide toward famine. Israel allowed a similar amount of aid to enter during a ceasefire earlier this year. During the temporary ceasefire, the sides would negotiate a lasting truce, the release of the remaining hostages and the further withdrawal of Israeli forces. Israel is committed to destroying Hamas Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that while he will halt the fighting temporarily to facilitate the release of hostages, he will not end the war until Hamas has been defeated and disarmed. Even then, he says Israel will maintain security control over Gaza and facilitate the relocation of much of its population to other countries through what he describes as voluntary emigration. Palestinians and much of the international community view it as forcible expulsion. Earlier this month, Netanyahu announced plans to occupy Gaza City and other densely populated areas, which would likely result in even more casualties and further waves of mass displacement. Those threats were partly aimed at pressuring Hamas. Israel's offensive has already killed over 62,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up around half of those killed. Vast areas of Gaza have been completely destroyed. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and run by medical professionals. The UN and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of wartime casualties. Israel disputes them but has not provided its own numbers. Hamas is severely weakened but not defeated Hamas has suffered heavy losses through nearly two years of war. Most of its top leaders have been killed, its rocket supplies have been vastly depleted, and Israel has regularly announced the destruction of tunnel complexes and other military infrastructure. Iran and Hamas' other regional allies are in disarray after Israeli and US strikes. The Israeli military says it now controls at least 75 percent of Gaza, with much of the population — and the remnants of Hamas' government and police force — largely confined to Gaza City, built-up refugee camps from the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation and Muwasi, a sprawling tent camp along the coast. The hostages are Hamas' last bargaining chip and its only hope of emerging from the war with something it can try to portray as a victory. The militant group has said it will only release the remaining captives in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a complete Israeli withdrawal. Hamas says it is willing to hand over power to other Palestinians but will not lay down its arms as long as Israel occupies lands the Palestinians want for a future state. Israel says any arrangement that leaves Hamas intact and armed would allow it to eventually rebuild its forces and launch another Oct. 7-style attack. The US role is crucial Israel has been tight-lipped about the talks, and it's unclear when it will respond. The Security Cabinet, which would need to approve any such deal, usually meets on Thursdays. In the meantime, all eyes are on Washington. Trump helped to get a previous ceasefire across the finish line in January after former President Joe Biden's administration and Arab mediators had spent months hammering it out. The US then offered its full support when Israel ended that truce and resumed its air and ground war in March. Trump alone might be able to convince Israel to halt the war without trying to eradicate Hamas at the cost of countless more Palestinian lives and possibly the remaining hostages. He says he wants to return the hostages and end the war but has not publicly pressured Israel. In a post Monday on his Truth Social website, Trump appeared once again to express full support for Netanyahu's endgame. 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be,' he wrote. 'Play to WIN, or don't play at all!'
Al Arabiya
15 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Gaza ceasefire: Israel reviews Hamas offer for 60-day truce, hostage release
Israel is studying Hamas' response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal, two officials said on Tuesday of a potential deal for a 60-day truce and the release of half the Israeli hostages still held in the battered enclave. Efforts to pause the fighting gained new momentum over the past week after Israel announced plans for a new offensive to seize control of Gaza City, and Egypt and Qatar have been pushing to restart indirect talks between the sides on a US-backed ceasefire plan. The proposal includes the release of 200 Palestinian convicts jailed in Israel and an unspecified number of imprisoned women and minors, in return for 10 living and 18 deceased hostages from Gaza, according to a Hamas official. Two Egyptian security sources confirmed the details, and added that Hamas has requested the release of hundreds of Gaza detainees as well. The proposal includes a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces, which presently control 75 percent of Gaza and the entry of more humanitarian aid into the enclave, where a population of 2.2 million people is increasingly facing famine. The last round of indirect talks between the sides ended in deadlock in July, with the sides trading blame for the collapse. Israel had previously agreed to the outline, advanced by US special Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, but negotiations faltered over some of its details. Israel's plans to seize control of Gaza City in the heart of the Palestinian enclave have since stirred alarm abroad and among the estimated one million people presently living there. On the ground, there were no signs of a ceasefire nearing as Israeli gunfire, tank shelling and airstrikes killed at least 20 Palestinians on Tuesday, according to Gaza health officials. Tanks completed taking control of the Zeitoun suburb, an eastern neighborhood on Gaza City's outskirts, and continued to pound the nearby area of Sabra, killing two women and a man, medics said. Local health authorities said dozens of people had been trapped in their houses because of the shelling. The Israeli military said it was checking the report. Israeli protesters demand deal On Friday, it said its forces were operating in nearby Zeitoun to locate weapons, tunnels and gunmen. 'It has been one of the worst nights in Sabra and Gaza City as the explosions are heard throughout the city,' said Nasra Ali, 54, a mother of five, who lives in Sabra. 'I was planning to leave my house when I heard there is a possible ceasefire. I might stay for a day or two, if nothing happens, then I will run away with my kids,' she told Reuters via a chat app. Thousands of people are estimated to have fled the area in the past few days. In Israel, the threatened offensive prompted tens of thousands of Israelis on Sunday to hold some of the largest protests since the war began, urging a deal to end the fighting and free the remaining hostages held in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to convene discussions about the ceasefire proposal soon, the two Israeli officials said. He faces pressure from his far-right government partners who object to a truce with Hamas. Ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir have called for Israel to keep the war going until Hamas' defeat, and annex Gaza. Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq said that the truce proposal it has agreed to is an interim accord that would pave the way for negotiations on ending the war. A source close to the talks said that, unlike previous rounds, Hamas accepted the proposal with no further demands. But prospects for agreeing an end to the war appear remote, with gaps remaining on the terms. Israel is demanding the group lay down its arms and its leaders leave Gaza, conditions which Hamas has so far publicly rejected. The war began when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel's offensive has since killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, plunged Gaza into humanitarian crisis and displaced most its population.
Arab News
15 hours ago
- Arab News
Mediators await Israeli response to new truce offer
JERUSALEM: Mediators were awaiting an Israeli response Tuesday to a fresh Gaza ceasefire plan, a day after Hamas accepted the proposal and signaled its readiness for a new round of talks aimed at ending nearly two years of war. The foes have held on-and-off indirect negotiations throughout the war resulting in two short truces and the releases of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but they have ultimately failed to broker a lasting ceasefire. The efforts have been mediated by Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, with frequent rounds of shuttle diplomacy aiming to break the deadlock. Egypt said Monday that it and Qatar had sent the new proposal to Israel, adding 'the ball is now in its court.' According to a report in Egyptian state-linked outlet Al-Qahera, the latest deal proposes an initial 60-day truce, a partial hostage release, the freeing of some Palestinian prisoners and provisions allowing for the entry of aid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has yet to publicly comment on the plan, but said last week that his country would accept 'an agreement in which all the hostages are released at once and according to our conditions for ending the war.' Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said on social media that his group had 'opened the door wide to the possibility of reaching an agreement, but the question remains whether Netanyahu will once again close it, as he has done in the past.' Hamas's acceptance of the proposal comes as Netanyahu faces increasing pressure at home and abroad to end the war. On Sunday, tens of thousands took to the streets in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv to call for the end of the war and a deal to free the remaining hostages still being held captive. Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war, 49 are still in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. The new proposal also comes after Israel's security cabinet approved plans to conquer Gaza City and nearby refugee camps, fanning fears the new offensive will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the devastated territory. Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir – who has staunchly opposed ending the war – slammed the plan, warning of a 'tragedy' if Netanyahu 'gives in to Hamas.' Gaza's civil defense agency reported that 27 people were killed Tuesday by Israeli strikes and fire across the territory. Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the situation was 'very dangerous and unbearable' in the Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods of Gaza City, where he said 'artillery shelling continues intermittently.' The Israeli military declined to comment on specific troop movements, saying only that it was 'operating to dismantle Hamas military capabilities' and took 'feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.' Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing swathes of the Palestinian territory mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency or the Israeli military. Sabra resident Hussein Al-Dairi, 44, said 'tanks are firing shells and mortars, and drones are firing bullets and missiles' in the neighborhood. 'We heard on the news that Hamas had agreed to a truce, but the occupation is escalating the war against us, the civilians,' he added. Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's offensive has killed more than 62,004 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza which the United Nations considers reliable.
