Ethiopia Rejects Egyptian, Sudanese Warnings Against Filling GERD

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the largest hydroelectric power station in Africa (AP)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the largest hydroelectric power station in Africa (AP)
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Ethiopia Rejects Egyptian, Sudanese Warnings Against Filling GERD

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the largest hydroelectric power station in Africa (AP)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is the largest hydroelectric power station in Africa (AP)

Ethiopia is proceeding with the second filling of the controversial dam on the Nile River despite Egyptian and Sudanese warnings.

Egypt and Sudan call for a legally binding agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)'s filling and operation to guarantee their water right, while Ethiopia refuses to commit to any agreement that limits its capability to develop its resources.

Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen said that his country owns 86% of the river’s waters and that no one can prevent the country from benefiting from its share.

He noted that Ethiopians had gone through several ups and downs over the past years to realize the project.

Demeke made the remark at a symposium organized over the 10th anniversary of the commencement of the dam.

Ethiopia's Minister of Water, Irrigation, and Energy Dr. Seleshi Bekele, for his part, expressed his country's commitment to the international law obligations regarding transboundary waters.

Yet, he added that efforts to cooperate with the negotiating states were in vain.

Bekele said the second filling of the GERD would be implemented in the coming rainy season, which starts in July, and “will not be postponed by any means.”

Spokesman for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dina Mufti said that Ethiopia has “great respect for the African Union” and that the country “believes in resolving African problems by Africans.”

Ethiopia’s FM also said that they haven’t received an official proposal to form a quartet committee that includes the European Union, the United Nations, the United States, and the African Union to mediate the GERD talks.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.