Egypt Exerts Efforts to Alleviate the Suffering of Palestinians

Recreational activities for Gaza children inside a Khan Yunis camp. (Egyptian Red Crescent)
Recreational activities for Gaza children inside a Khan Yunis camp. (Egyptian Red Crescent)
TT

Egypt Exerts Efforts to Alleviate the Suffering of Palestinians

Recreational activities for Gaza children inside a Khan Yunis camp. (Egyptian Red Crescent)
Recreational activities for Gaza children inside a Khan Yunis camp. (Egyptian Red Crescent)

The Egyptian air force carried out an airdrop of humanitarian aid Tuesday in the Gaza Strip, while Cairo has finished the preparation of a second refugee camp in Gaza.

The airdrop was conducted in cooperation with Jordan and the UAE, said state-run Al-Qahera News, citing high-level sources.

“Some 45 tons of Egyptian humanitarian aid were dropped in the northern and central Gaza Strip,” it said.

Egypt "intensifies its efforts by land and air to relieve the stricken areas in the northern Gaza Strip and supply them with urgent aid,” said Al-Qahera News.

It said Egypt plans to airdrop 50 tons of urgent humanitarian aid in the northern and central Gaza Strip.

Egypt is setting up a third refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and preparing a field hospital for Palestinians displaced by Israeli attacks, Al-Qahera News reported.

The camp will be in northern Deir el-Balah province in central Gaza, the Egyptian TV channel said, citing a security source. It said Egypt had already finished its second camp in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

The Egyptian Red Crescent, in cooperation with the Palestinian Red Crescent, set up the first camp for the displaced in Khan Yunis.

More than 2,200 Palestinians wounded in the Gaza Strip have crossed into Egypt through the Rafah border since Nov. 1, 2023, the Egyptian Ministry of Health said. The statement said 47 hospitals in eight Egyptian provinces treated the wounded and performed more than 1,300 surgeries.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service, denied media reports alleging that Egypt is building camps on the Egyptian side of the border in Sinai to accommodate displaced Palestinians from Gaza.

Rashwan reiterated Egypt’s rejection of any “forced or voluntary” displacement of Palestinians outside their lands, especially to Egypt. Any such displacement would result in the “certain liquidation of the Palestinian issue, and [would be] a direct threat to Egyptian sovereignty and national security,” he added.



Lebanon Joins Middle East Green Initiative

 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
TT

Lebanon Joins Middle East Green Initiative

 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)
 Prime Minister Najib Mikati sits between Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan and Environment Minister Nasser Yassin during the announcement (Office of the Prime Minister)

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister announced that the country has joined the Middle East Green Initiative, launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to mitigate the impact of climate change on the region.

“This is an essential step for Lebanon, especially since our southern villages and towns have been exposed to significant environmental and agricultural damage due to Israeli attacks, which requires cooperation with all of Lebanon's friends,” a statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers quoted Mikati as saying.

Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan welcomed Lebanon’s participation in the initiative, confirming that a high committee has been established to ensure the project’s sustainability and facilitate relevant cooperation.

He noted that the timing of the announcement “comes in light of the continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and this matter must be drawn to attention, especially since Israel is destroying very large areas, whether agricultural lands, fruit trees or forests.”

Environment Minister Nasser Yassin said that the Middle East Green Initiative has very important goals to plant 40 billion trees across the region and protect the Gulf and the Middle East from climate change, stop land degradation and desertification and find the means to adapt to future challenges.

The Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture estimates that more than 2.8 million square meters of forest and agricultural land were completely burned, while about 6.7 million square meters of agricultural and forest land were partially damaged as a result of Israel’s attacks and its use of internationally-banned incendiary munitions.