Cairo Awaits Resumption of Dam Talks amid Floods Warning

AFP file photo of the building of GERD
AFP file photo of the building of GERD
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Cairo Awaits Resumption of Dam Talks amid Floods Warning

AFP file photo of the building of GERD
AFP file photo of the building of GERD

Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said Thursday that his government took all necessary measures to prepare for any rise in Nile water levels, which may cause some flooding in areas adjacent to the river.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Irrigation has also gone on alert as water levels coming from the Ethiopian plateau continue to rise.

Egyptian Minister of Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Aaty met with officials on Thursday and urged them to continue efforts to remove building violations on waterways, especially those of the Nile River.

As the ministry expects a higher-than-average floods this year, Abdel Aaty called for removing illegal structures on the Nile’s northern branches of Damietta and Rashid, which he says obstruct the water network’s capability to contain excess water in the times of emergency and during annual floods.

The Ministry expects this year’s floods to start declining at the end of September.

Floods in Sudan and South Sudan in recent weeks have killed dozens of people and left hundreds of thousands homeless.

Egypt’s preparations to contain flooding come as negotiations between Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum face further complications concerning a final agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The differences mainly lie on filling the dam reservoir during periods of drought.

Addis Ababa, which began constructing the dam in 2011 on the Nile River, considers the project essential to generate electricity to support its development. Both Khartoum and Cairo fear the 145-meter-high dam will threaten essential water supplies.



Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
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Israeli Troops Deploy to New Corridor Across Southern Gaza

Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Smoke rises to the sky following Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Friday, April 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Israel said Saturday that troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza to pressure the Hamas militant group.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.
A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located, The Associated Press reported. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.
Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.
Netanyahu said it would be “a second Philadelphi corridor,” referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May.
Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.
“We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages,” Netanyahu said Wednesday.
The latest announcement came shortly after a White House official confirmed that Netanyahu on Monday would again meet with President Donald Trump, their second meeting at the White House since Trump took office in January.
Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire in Gaza with a surprise bombardment after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the truce that had taken hold in January. The White House supported Israel's move.
Netanyahu’s defense minister said Israel would seize large areas of Gaza and add them to its so-called security zones.
Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the remaining hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war, disarms and leaves the territory.
Israel last month again halted all supplies of food, fuel and humanitarian aid to Gaza.