Wad Madani: Who Seizes it Rules Sudan

File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 
File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 
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Wad Madani: Who Seizes it Rules Sudan

File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 
File photo: A force from the Rapid Support Forces. (AP) 

Whoever controls the city of Wad Madani consequently rules the whole of Sudan.
The Rapid Support Forces’ targeting of the city is a qualitative development in the fighting with the Sudanese army given the city’s significance and its strategic location.
Wad Madani is Sudan’s second city in terms of social, political, and economic weight. It is the capital of the El Gezira state.

The Gezira state is located in southern Khartoum and is bordered to the north and west by the White Nile State, to the south by Sennar, and the east by Al Qadarif. It is considered the geographical center of Sudan.
Gezira is the first economic state in the country given its abundance of human, agricultural, animal, and natural resources. It is also home to the Gezira Scheme which is one of the largest irrigation projects in the world and was established in 1925 during British colonialism.
The cotton grown in Gezira used to be the most important export of Sudan and the main supplier of hard currency to the country, but the project was severely shocked upon the coup of 1989 due to the failed policies adopted by the coup regime. Things got worse when the government started depending on oil supplies after the nineties of the past century.
In addition to its economic significance, Wad Madani hosted following the war between the army and the RSF hundreds of thousands of refugees and received the greatest number of people fleeing from the fighting in Khartoum.
This has made it a vital city in the Sudanese developments during the war, and maybe after it.
In the case of the RSF seizure of the city, they would have seized the center of Sudan. The Hantoub Bridge is the only bridge that connects the country’s center, south, and west to the east.
Wad Madani is considered a cultural and artistic center and it has the University of Gezira, the third university in the country in terms of academic and historical rating. It also has Gezira Literature and Arts Association which is one of the most important cultural associations in the history of the country.

Wad Madani has also presented a huge number of politicians, artists, and writers.



Netanyahu Offers Hamas Leaders Gaza Exit but Demands Group Disarm

A general view shows tents housing displaced Palestinians during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A general view shows tents housing displaced Palestinians during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Netanyahu Offers Hamas Leaders Gaza Exit but Demands Group Disarm

A general view shows tents housing displaced Palestinians during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A general view shows tents housing displaced Palestinians during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Gaza City on March 30, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday offered to let Hamas leaders leave Gaza but demanded the group abandon its arms, as his country kept up its bombardment of the Palestinian territory.

Gaza's civil defense agency said an Israeli air strike on a house and tent sheltering displaced Palestinians killed at least eight people, including five children.

The strike in Khan Yunis came in the morning on the first day of Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Israel resumed intense bombing of the Palestinian territory on March 18 and then launched a new ground offensive, ending a nearly two-month ceasefire in the war with Hamas.

Netanyahu rejected criticism that his government was not engaging in negotiations aimed at releasing hostages held in Gaza, insisting the renewed military pressure on Hamas was proving effective.

"We are negotiating under fire... We can see cracks beginning to appear" in Hamas's positions, the Israeli leader told a cabinet meeting.

In the "final stage", Netanyahu said that "Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave".

"The military pressure is working," Reuters quoted him as saying.

"The combination of military pressure and diplomatic pressure is the only thing that has brought the hostages back."

Hamas has expressed a willingness to relinquish Gaza's administration, but has warned its weapons are a "red line".

Egypt, Qatar and the United States are attempting to again broker a ceasefire and secure the release of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

A senior Hamas official stated on Saturday that the group had approved a new ceasefire proposal put forward by mediators and urged Israel to support it.

Netanyahu's office confirmed receipt of the proposal and stated that Israel had submitted a counterproposal in response.

However, the details of the latest mediation efforts remain undisclosed.