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Arab World

Egypt, Greece Agree to Boost Ties, Back Gaza Reconstruction Plan 

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 
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Egypt, Greece Agree to Boost Ties, Back Gaza Reconstruction Plan 

Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 
Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) and the Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi shake hands after signing a memorandum of cooperation in Athens on May 7, 2025. (AFP) 

Greece and Egypt signed a "strategic partnership" deal on Wednesday as they seek to step up political coordination to help safeguard stability in the Eastern Mediterranean amid the ongoing war in Gaza.

"Our bilateral cooperation is based on political, economic, and cultural ties, which are deeply rooted in history and defined by our strong commitment to the values of peace and the full respect of international law," Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a joint statement.

The two officials met during the first meeting of the Supreme Cooperation Council, a body they agreed to set up more than a year ago to improve ties.

The two leaders reaffirmed their joint stance over the need to respect international law to promote peace in Gaza.

"The first priority is for hostilities to stop and restore the flow of humanitarian aid to civilians," Mitsotakis said in joint statements with Sisi. He said Greece supported an Arab-backed plan for the reconstruction of Gaza once a ceasefire was achieved.

Migration also topped the agenda of bilateral talks as European governments have long been worried about the risk of instability in Egypt, a country of 106 million people where economic adversity has pushed increasing numbers to migrate.

Egypt largely shut off irregular migration from its north coast in 2016, but the Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos have seen a steep rise in migrant arrivals, mostly from Afghanistan and Egypt.

The European Union last year announced a 7.4 billion euro ($8.40 billion) funding package and an upgraded relationship with Egypt, in part of a push to stem migrant flows from Egypt to Europe. Last month, the EU's executive arm included Egypt on a list of "safe countries" where failed asylum seekers could be returned.

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Arab World

Military Leader Survives Bombing in Aden

Hamdi Shukri Al-Subaihi has a prominent role in establishing security in areas controlled by his forces, especially in Lahj (X)
Hamdi Shukri Al-Subaihi has a prominent role in establishing security in areas controlled by his forces, especially in Lahj (X)
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Military Leader Survives Bombing in Aden

Hamdi Shukri Al-Subaihi has a prominent role in establishing security in areas controlled by his forces, especially in Lahj (X)
Hamdi Shukri Al-Subaihi has a prominent role in establishing security in areas controlled by his forces, especially in Lahj (X)

A car bomb explosion in Yemen’s Aden on Wednesday targeted the convoy of Brigadier General Hamdi Shukri Al-Subaihi, commander of the Second Division in the Giants Brigades, and one of the most prominent leaders whose forces contributed to imposing security in Aden.

According to information, al-Subaihi survived the bombing which occurred when a military motorcade transporting him passed through the Jaula area.

The bombing came a day after local authorities in Mukalla, the largest city in Hadhramaut, revealed secret prisons and explosives used in assassinations that were in the possession of groups from the Southern Transitional Council run by the Emirates before the latter's departure from Yemen about three weeks ago.

The incident brought security concerns back to the forefront, at a time when the Saudi-led coalition to support legitimacy is seeking to restore stability to the southern governorates and unify military and security forces after dissolving what was called the "Transitional Council."

Arab World

Egyptian Gaza Relief Group Says Israeli Strike on Photographers Was Deliberate

An aid distribution point in northern Gaza operated by the Egyptian Relief Committee (Egyptian Relief Committee)
An aid distribution point in northern Gaza operated by the Egyptian Relief Committee (Egyptian Relief Committee)
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Egyptian Gaza Relief Group Says Israeli Strike on Photographers Was Deliberate

An aid distribution point in northern Gaza operated by the Egyptian Relief Committee (Egyptian Relief Committee)
An aid distribution point in northern Gaza operated by the Egyptian Relief Committee (Egyptian Relief Committee)

The spokesperson for the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza, Mohamed Mansour, said Israel deliberately targeted three photojournalists while they were carrying out a humanitarian mission inside the Netzarim camp, an area located about six kilometers away from Israeli army forces.

Mansour told Asharq Al-Awsat that the attack was “a continuation of Israeli pressure on the committee’s work since it began operating, as part of the occupation’s efforts to tighten restrictions on anyone attempting to provide relief work and humanitarian services to the people of Gaza.”

The Israeli army killed three photojournalists on Wednesday who were working as a media team for the Egyptian Relief Committee for Gaza.

Field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the victims were Mohammed Salah Qashta, Abdul Raouf Shaat, and Anas Ghneim.

They were carrying out a filming mission using a small drone and cameras to document stages of work at camps that the Egyptian committee is helping to establish.

Mansour stressed that “the targeting of the photographers will only increase the committee’s determination to provide relief services and shelter to the Palestinian people.”

He said the committee would continue its work as usual to be “a genuine support for the people of the Strip, amid extremely complex security conditions.”

Israeli Army Radio reported, citing sources, that Egypt sent an angry message to Israel following the attack in Gaza in which Palestinians working for the Egyptian committee for the reconstruction were killed.

According to the radio report, Egypt expressed its protest that the attack took place outside the boundaries of the so-called yellow line, in an area that does not pose a threat to Israeli forces.

For its part, the Israeli army claimed it had targeted suspects operating a “Hamas-affiliated drone” in central Gaza.

In a statement on Wednesday, the army said: “Following the identification of the drone and due to the threat it posed to the forces, the Israeli army precisely struck the suspects who were operating the drone.”

The army said the details were under review.

Arab World

Israel Launches Wave of Fresh Strikes on Lebanon

Smoke and sparks ascend from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the southern Lebanese village of Kfour on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke and sparks ascend from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the southern Lebanese village of Kfour on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Launches Wave of Fresh Strikes on Lebanon

Smoke and sparks ascend from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the southern Lebanese village of Kfour on January 21, 2026. (AFP)
Smoke and sparks ascend from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a building in the southern Lebanese village of Kfour on January 21, 2026. (AFP)

Israel launched fresh strikes on what it said were Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon after raids earlier Wednesday killed two people, the latest violence despite a year-old ceasefire with the group.

The state-run National News Agency said Israeli warplanes launched raids on buildings in several south Lebanon towns including Qanarit and Kfour, after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings to residents identifying sites it intended to strike there.

An AFP photographer was slightly wounded along with two other journalists who were working near the site of a heavy strike in Qanarit.

The Israeli army said it was striking Hezbollah targets in response to the group's "repeated violations of the ceasefire understandings".

Under heavy US pressure and fears of expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming Hezbollah.

But Israel has criticized the Lebanese army's progress as insufficient and has kept up regular strikes, usually saying it is targeting members of the Iran-backed group or its infrastructure.

Earlier Wednesday, the health ministry said an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the town of Zahrani, in the Sidon district, killed one person.

An AFP correspondent saw a charred car on a main road with debris strewn across the area and emergency workers in attendance.

Later, the ministry said another strike targeting a vehicle in the town of Bazuriyeh in the Tyre district killed one person.

Israel said it struck Hezbollah operatives in both areas.

A Lebanese army statement decried the Israeli targeting of "civilian buildings and homes" in a "blatant violation of Lebanon's sovereignty" and the ceasefire deal.

It also said such attacks "hinder the army's efforts" to complete the disarmament plan.

This month, the army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, covering the area south of the Litani river, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.

Most of Wednesday's strikes were north of the river.

More than 350 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon since the ceasefire, according to an AFP tally of health ministry reports.

The November 2024 truce sought to end more than a year of hostilities, but Israel accuses Hezbollah of rearming, while the group has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.