Egypt's Sisi: Last 10 Years Were Dedicated to Bridge Gaps in State’s Sectors

Sisi on Tuesday at the Suez Canal University (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi on Tuesday at the Suez Canal University (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt's Sisi: Last 10 Years Were Dedicated to Bridge Gaps in State’s Sectors

Sisi on Tuesday at the Suez Canal University (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi on Tuesday at the Suez Canal University (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday that the past 10 years were a transitional stage to bridge the gaps in the different state sectors, especially in the health and educational domains.

Sisi said the state finalized about 50 percent of the medical infrastructure and established about 700 hospitals out of the 1,400 hospitals which the state needs.

The President stressed on the need to “develop a true description of the reality of the Egyptian state in order to come up with solutions that contribute to the progress of the state, rebuilding, hope, and restoring confidence.”

Sisi made his remarks during a meeting with heads of universities comprising the Supreme Universities Council on the sidelines of a celebration marking the excellence of Egyptian universities at Suez Canal University.

He underlined the importance of striking a balance between educational specializations and labor market needs, emphasizing that university pathways should be responsive to labor market requirements in order to provide real employment opportunities.

He also referred to the efforts exerted over the past period to support the higher education infrastructure, noting that investment in the infrastructure of education has doubled in eight years.

The President said there is coordination with the government to address the infrastructure needs at the educational level, stressing that he would keep the Egyptians updated on the size and value of such works, both in the education sector and other sectors.

Sisi then called for a community dialogue on education. “We must be prepared to reassure citizens about education,” he explained.

On the selection and preparation of teachers, the Egyptian President said the Ministry of Education implemented programs for applicants to fill teacher job, he said.

“All teachers have a good opportunity to apply for jobs through a fair system that respects evaluation and testing.”

Tackling the country’s sports clubs, Sisi called for changing their management systems and financial rules. He said Egypt needs to raise the efficiency and qualification of about 4,000 youth centers.



With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
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With Nowhere Else to Hide, Gazans Shelter in Former Prison

24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)
24 July 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Displaced Palestinians stay in Asda prison in Khan Younis after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes in the towns of Abasan, Bani Suhaila, Ma'an, Al-Zana and a number of other villages, amid Israel-Hamas conflict. (dpa)

After weeks of Israeli bombardment left them with nowhere else to go, hundreds of Palestinians have ended up in a former Gaza prison built to hold murderers and thieves.

Yasmeen al-Dardasi said she and her family passed wounded people they were unable to help as they evacuated from a district in the southern city of Khan Younis towards its Central Correction and Rehabilitation Facility.

They spent a day under a tree before moving on to the former prison, where they now live in a prayer room. It offers protection from the blistering sun, but not much else.

Dardasi's husband has a damaged kidney and just one lung, but no mattress or blanket.

"We are not settled here either," said Dardasi, who like many Palestinians fears she will be uprooted once again.

Israel has said it goes out of its way to protect civilians in its war with the Palestinian group Hamas, which runs Gaza and led the attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that sparked the latest conflict.

Palestinians, many of whom have been displaced several times, say nowhere is free of Israeli bombardment, which has reduced much of Gaza to rubble.

An Israeli air strike killed at least 90 Palestinians in a designated humanitarian zone in the Al-Mawasi area on July 13, the territory's health ministry said, in an attack that Israel said targeted Hamas' elusive military chief Mohammed Deif.

On Thursday, Gaza's health ministry said Israeli military strikes on areas in eastern Khan Younis had killed 14 people.

Entire neighborhoods have been flattened in one of the most densely populated places in the world, where poverty and unemployment have long been widespread.

According to the United Nations, nine in ten people across Gaza are now internally displaced.

Israeli soldiers told Saria Abu Mustafa and her family that they should flee for safety as tanks were on their way, she said. The family had no time to change so they left in their prayer clothes.

After sleeping outside on sandy ground, they too found refuge in the prison, among piles of rubble and gaping holes in buildings from the battles which were fought there. Inmates had been released long before Israel attacked.

"We didn't take anything with us. We came here on foot, with children walking with us," she said, adding that many of the women had five or six children with them and that water was hard to find.

She held her niece, who was born during the conflict, which has killed her father and brothers.

When Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 they killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 people hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the air and ground offensive Israel launched in response, Palestinian health officials say.

Hana Al-Sayed Abu Mustafa arrived at the prison after being displaced six times.

If Egyptian, US and Qatari mediators fail to secure a ceasefire they have long said is close, she and other Palestinians may be on the move once again. "Where should we go? All the places that we go to are dangerous," she said.