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Egypt, US Stress Importance of Joint Defense Cooperation

The Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production, Major General Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, and the military attaché at the US embassy in Cairo, General Ralph Groover (Egyptian Government)
The Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production, Major General Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, and the military attaché at the US embassy in Cairo, General Ralph Groover (Egyptian Government)
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Egypt, US Stress Importance of Joint Defense Cooperation

The Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production, Major General Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, and the military attaché at the US embassy in Cairo, General Ralph Groover (Egyptian Government)
The Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production, Major General Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, and the military attaché at the US embassy in Cairo, General Ralph Groover (Egyptian Government)

Egyptian and US officials confirmed ongoing military cooperation between the two countries, stressing that they are “as strong as ever,” according to an Egyptian statement.

The statement came following the meeting between the Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production, Major General Mohamed Ahmed Morsi, and the military attaché at the US embassy in Cairo, General Ralph Groover.

The two discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation and the possibility of exchanging expertise and manufacturing technologies in various industrial fields.

The two officials also addressed the permanent development in various training, manufacturing, and research facilities of the ministry, and means to benefit from the US expertise.

Morsi pointed out the importance of strengthening cooperation between military production companies and US companies in various fields, explaining Egypt's keenness to consolidate and deepen the strategic industrial partnership with the US.

The Minister described it as an important pillar for maintaining security and stability in the Middle East.

Grover affirmed that the US-Egyptian military cooperation is distinguished by its great history and is “as strong as ever.”

The attaché also expressed his aspiration to mutual work to meet the challenges facing not only the two countries but also the countries of the region.

The US provides Egypt with annual aid estimated at $1.55 billion, of which $1.3 billion is allocated for military aid in the form of equipment, tools, maintenance services, and training.

The aid was first sent in 1979 after the ratification of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, which required congressional approval for such aid to Cairo.

Meanwhile, Russian media outlets reported that the first batch of the Su-35 fighter jets are en route to Egypt as part of a 2018 deal, which was not officially confirmed by Cairo or Moscow.

Last November, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Political and Military Affairs, R. Clark Cooper, announced that Egypt's purchase of Russian aircraft exposes it to the risk of US sanctions, as well as threatens its future purchases of US equipment.

Egyptian parliamentarians described Cooper's statements as “unacceptable interference in the state’s sovereignty.”

The US objected to the Russian deal and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Mark Esper warned Egyptian Defense Minister Sedki Sobhi of possible sanctions over Cairo’s purchase of Russian warplanes.

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Arab World

Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 17 in Gaza as Ground Troops Enter Palestinian Territory’s North

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 17 in Gaza as Ground Troops Enter Palestinian Territory’s North

A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows a smoke plume rising above destroyed buildings in the southern part of the Palestinian territory on April 3, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, as Israel sent more ground troops into the Palestinian territory to ramp up its offensive against Hamas.

At least 17 people, some from the same family, were killed after an airstrike hit the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff. Hours later, people were still searching through the rubble, looking for survivors.

The attack came a day after Israeli strikes killed at least 100 Palestinians. Hundreds more have died in the past two weeks, as Israel has intensified operations, intended to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages it took during its attack on Israel in October 2023. On Friday, Israel said it had begun ground activity in northern Gaza, in order to expand its security zone.

Israel’s military had issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza before expected ground operations. The UN humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month.

In recent days, Israel has vowed to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it.

To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Israel said earlier this week that enough food had entered Gaza during a six-week truce to sustain the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians for a long time.

Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory.

The predawn strike on Friday hit a three-story building. In addition to the dead, the attack wounded at least 16 people from the same family. Associated Press reporters saw bodies being carried out in blankets, while others searched for people trapped under the rubble and collected charred remains.

“We don’t know how to collect them and how to bury them. We don’t know whose remains these are. They were burned and dismembered,” said Ismail Al-Aqqad, whose brother died in the strike, as well as his brother’s family.

On Thursday, more than 30 bodies, including women and children, were taken to hospitals in and around Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.

Israel said Friday that it had killed a top Hamas commander in a strike in Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon. Israel said that Hassan Farhat was a commander of Hamas’ western area in Lebanon and that he was responsible for numerous attacks against Israel, including one in February 2024, which killed an Israeli soldier and injured others.

In Israel’s renewed offensive, troops have expanded the buffer zone, retaking the eastern section of the Netzarim corridor and partially disconnecting northern and southern Gaza.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, known as ACLED, reported there were over 300 airstrike events during 10 days at the end of March — nearly 10 times the number in February.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of Israel's offensive, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The ministry says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war has left most of Gaza in ruins, and at its height displaced around 90% of the population.