EU Chief to Visit Egypt, Jordan on Saturday

In this Thursday, July 2, 2020 file photo, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addresses a press conference at EU Headquarters in Brussels. - AP
In this Thursday, July 2, 2020 file photo, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addresses a press conference at EU Headquarters in Brussels. - AP
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EU Chief to Visit Egypt, Jordan on Saturday

In this Thursday, July 2, 2020 file photo, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addresses a press conference at EU Headquarters in Brussels. - AP
In this Thursday, July 2, 2020 file photo, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addresses a press conference at EU Headquarters in Brussels. - AP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Egypt and Jordan, her spokesman said Wednesday, amid fighting between Israel and Hamas that has raged for more than five weeks.

The EU chief will on Saturday meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi before travelling to Sinai, near the border with Israel, for the arrival of an EU humanitarian convoy, Eric Mamer said.

She will then meet King Abdullah II in Jordan, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, AFP reported.

In Gaza, more than 11,500 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed in the ensuing aerial bombardment and ground offensive, health officials in the Hamas-run territory have said.

In a speech to EU diplomats at the beginning of November, von der Leyen said the 27-member bloc -- the biggest donor to the Palestinian territories -- would increase its humanitarian aid for Gaza by 25 million euros ($27 million).



Israeli Strike Kills 38 People in Khan Younis

Tents sheltering people displaced by conflict are pictured with the Mediterranean sea in the background in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2024 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
Tents sheltering people displaced by conflict are pictured with the Mediterranean sea in the background in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2024 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
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Israeli Strike Kills 38 People in Khan Younis

Tents sheltering people displaced by conflict are pictured with the Mediterranean sea in the background in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2024 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)
Tents sheltering people displaced by conflict are pictured with the Mediterranean sea in the background in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 23, 2024 amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP)

Israeli strikes killed 38 people in Gaza and three journalists in Lebanon on Friday as growing worries about supply shortages in Gaza and international pressure for a cease-fire mounted.
The deaths reported by Gaza health officials were the latest in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, where people have in recent days lined up for bread outside the city's only bakery in operation, The Associated Press said.
The strikes come a day after the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel had accomplished its objective of “effectively dismantling” Hamas and implored both sides to revive negotiations.