5 Egyptian Parties Announce Support for Sisi in Presidential Elections

Banners supporting Sisi in the upcoming presidential elections (Free Egyptians Party)
Banners supporting Sisi in the upcoming presidential elections (Free Egyptians Party)
TT
20

5 Egyptian Parties Announce Support for Sisi in Presidential Elections

Banners supporting Sisi in the upcoming presidential elections (Free Egyptians Party)
Banners supporting Sisi in the upcoming presidential elections (Free Egyptians Party)

The Conference and the Arab Nasserist parties announced their support for President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in the upcoming presidential elections, bringing the number of political blocs backing his reelection to five.

Those also include, the Future of a Nation, which holds the majority in the parliament, the Free Egyptians and the Homeland Defenders.

The head of the National Elections Authority, Walid Hamza, said the candidacies for the presidential elections were likely to be opened soon, after the completion of the logistical preparations for the electoral process, and the establishment of international and local monitoring regulations.

The deputy head of the Conference Party, Dr. Magdi Morshed, said during televised statements on Friday that the party’s decision to support Sisi for a new presidential term was based on a “full conviction” of the importance of maintaining the political leadership’s endeavor “to build a new republic.”

The Nasserist Arab Democratic Party also announced its support for Sisi “to complete the march of achievements... despite the difficult global economic conditions.”

In addition to Sisi, four potential candidates are likely to run for the presidential race. Those include, former MP Ahmed Tantawi, president of the Independence Movement Ahmed Fadali, head of the Wafd party Abdel-Sanad Yamama, and the Republican People’s Party chief, Hazem Omar.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, MP Mostafa Bakry, pointed to a national consensus among the parties over Sisi’s reelection.

While Bakri confirmed that opening the door for candidacy “will take place within a few weeks,” he said that this step will be linked to “important measures,” including “judicial supervision of the elections, local and international oversight, as well as media coverage.”



Hamas Says It’s Sending a Delegation to Qatar to Continue Gaza Ceasefire Talks 

A child looks on as mourners pray next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
A child looks on as mourners pray next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Hamas Says It’s Sending a Delegation to Qatar to Continue Gaza Ceasefire Talks 

A child looks on as mourners pray next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)
A child looks on as mourners pray next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes, at Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, April 15, 2025. (Reuters)

A Hamas official said Monday that the Palestinian group is sending a delegation to Qatar to continue indirect ceasefire talks with Israel over the war in Gaza, as the territory’s Health Ministry said that 38 people were confirmed dead over the past day.

The Hamas official said teams have been discussing terms for a new ceasefire agreement over recent days in Cairo, including a proposal that Hamas free eight to 10 hostages held in Gaza. But the Hamas official said a major sticking point remained over whether the war would end as part of any new deal.

The talks in Qatar are meant to take place later this week or next, the official said.

The Hamas official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the sensitive talks with the media. Officials from Israel and Qatar had no immediate comment.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight weeks before Israel resumed the war last month. The initial ceasefire agreement was meant to bring the sides toward negotiating an end to the war, something Israel has resisted doing because it wants to defeat Hamas first.

Since the ceasefire fell apart last month, Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza and forces have also seized swaths of the coastal enclave in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal more aligned with Israel's terms.

On Monday, the United Nations humanitarian office warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now likely to be “the worst” since Israel launched its retaliation to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, pointing to the Israeli ban on all supplies entering the Gaza Strip since March 2.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters: “No fuel has come in, no food has come in, no medicine has come in.”

The war started when Hamas-led fighters killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, during the attack on southern Israel and took 251 people captive. Most have since been freed in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Fifty-nine remain in Gaza, 24 of whom are believed to still be alive.

Nearly 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its count but says more than half of the dead have been women and children.

The Health Ministry said Monday that the bodies of 38 people killed in Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals across the territory over the past 24 hours. It said more than 1,600 people have been killed since the ceasefire collapsed.

Also Monday, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that a Palestinian medic was detained during an Israeli military operation in which troops killed 15 first responders in the Gaza Strip. It was the first confirmation of the medic's whereabouts since the March 23 attack in southern Gaza.

A statement from the Red Cross said it has not been granted access to visit him and did not say how it had received confirmation of his detention. The Israeli military had no immediate comment.

The Israeli military initially said troops had opened fire on vehicles that raised suspicion because they were traveling without lights on. It later backtracked after a cellphone video emerged showing clearly marked ambulances traveling with their sirens flashing before the shooting.

The military also said it killed nine militants traveling in the ambulances, without providing evidence. It named one of the militants, but the name did not match those of any of the paramedics, and no other bodies are known to have been recovered.

The military says it is investigating further.