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Egypt, Iran Discuss Gaza Situation, Restoring Ties

The Egyptian and Iranian presidents during their talks in Riyadh on the sidelines of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit. (Egyptian presidency) 
The Egyptian and Iranian presidents during their talks in Riyadh on the sidelines of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit. (Egyptian presidency) 
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Egypt, Iran Discuss Gaza Situation, Restoring Ties

The Egyptian and Iranian presidents during their talks in Riyadh on the sidelines of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit. (Egyptian presidency) 
The Egyptian and Iranian presidents during their talks in Riyadh on the sidelines of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit. (Egyptian presidency) 

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi and his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi discussed on Saturday the latest developments pertaining to the Gaza war and the restoration of ties between the two countries.
Raisi congratulated Sisi on his recent re-election and they discussed the developments in Gaza in their first telephone call, according to the Egyptian presidency spokesperson.
They further followed up on outstanding issues between the two countries.
The presidents agreed to take tangible steps for the final resolution of issues between the two countries, added the political deputy of the Iranian President's Office.
Iranian Tasnim news agency quoted the political deputy as saying that the two officials discussed the latest developments in Palestine and stressed the importance of Islamic unity.
This month, Sisi was reelected for a new six-year presidential term.

The two presidents met for the first time in Nov. on the sidelines of the extraordinary joint Arab-Islamic summit in Riyadh. Iran and Egypt ended diplomatic relations in 1979. Ties were resumed 11 years later but on the level of the Chargé d'Affairs.
Several meetings were held in the past months between Egyptian and Iranian ministers to discuss the possibility of developing bilateral ties.

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Bodies of Eight Red Crescent Medics Recovered in Gaza, One Still Missing

Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)
Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)
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Bodies of Eight Red Crescent Medics Recovered in Gaza, One Still Missing

Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)
Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)

The bodies of eight Palestine Red Crescent medics who came under fire in Gaza just over a week ago have been recovered, though a ninth worker is still unaccounted for, the Red Cross said.

In a statement late on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "appalled" at the deaths.

"Their bodies were identified today and have been recovered for dignified burial. These staff and volunteers were risking their own lives to provide support to others," it said.

The Palestine Red Crescent said it also recovered the bodies of six civil defense members and one UN employee from the same area. It said Israeli forces had targeted the workers. Red Cross statements did not apportion blame for the attacks.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said one worker from the nine-strong Red Crescent group was still unaccounted for. The group went missing on March 23.

The Israeli military said on Monday that an inquiry had found that on March 23, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when the vehicles approached a position without prior coordination and without headlights or emergency signals.

It said several fighters belonging to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups were killed.

"The Israeli army condemns the repeated use of civilian infrastructure by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including the use of medical facilities and ambulances for terrorist purposes," it said in a statement.

It did not comment directly on the deaths of the Red Cross workers.

The incident was the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere since 2017, the IFRC said.

"I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians," said IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain.

"They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked," he added.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,060 healthcare workers have been killed in the 18 months since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The global body is reducing its international staff in Gaza by a third due to staff safety concerns.