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Turkey Says to Send Delegation to Egypt in May

A general view of clustered buildings in Cairo, Egypt, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A general view of clustered buildings in Cairo, Egypt, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
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Turkey Says to Send Delegation to Egypt in May

A general view of clustered buildings in Cairo, Egypt, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany
A general view of clustered buildings in Cairo, Egypt, January 28, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

A Turkish delegation will visit Egypt next month as part of Ankara's efforts to mend ties, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.

"Egypt invited a delegation from Turkey. The delegation will go in early May," Cavusoglu told the private NTV broadcaster.

"We will discuss openly how to normalize relations."

Turkey and Egypt froze ties after the 2013 overthrow of ex-president Mohamed Morsi, who forged close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

That year, both countries expelled each others' ambassadors and Cairo had then declared the Turkish envoy "persona non grata."

But Turkish officials last month said Ankara had established the first diplomatic contacts with Cairo since 2013.

Cavusoglu on Thursday said the first delegation talks would be at the level of deputy foreign ministers, ahead of a contact between the ministers.

"I hope we will all together further improve relations," he said.

He added that a meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry would take place after those talks.

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Arab World

US Military Destroys Houthi Uncrewed Surface Vessel in Yemen

In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defense (MoD), a Sea Viper missile is launched from HMS Diamond to shoot down a missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (LPhot Chris Sellars/MoD Crown copyright via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defense (MoD), a Sea Viper missile is launched from HMS Diamond to shoot down a missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (LPhot Chris Sellars/MoD Crown copyright via AP)
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US Military Destroys Houthi Uncrewed Surface Vessel in Yemen

In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defense (MoD), a Sea Viper missile is launched from HMS Diamond to shoot down a missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (LPhot Chris Sellars/MoD Crown copyright via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defense (MoD), a Sea Viper missile is launched from HMS Diamond to shoot down a missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen, Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (LPhot Chris Sellars/MoD Crown copyright via AP)

The US military said in a statement that it destroyed on Tuesday an uncrewed surface vessel in an area of Yemen controlled by the Houthis.
According to the statement, “the boat was considered an imminent threat to US forces, coalition forces, and commercial ships in the region."

On Tuesday, a Portuguese-flagged container ship came under attack by a drone in the far reaches of the Arabian Sea, corresponding with a claim by Yemen's Houthis that they assaulted the ship there.
The attack on the MSC Orion, occurring some 600 kilometers (375 miles) off the coast of Yemen, appeared to be the first confirmed deep-sea assault claimed by the Houthis since they began targeting ships in November.

Arab World

Proliferation of Arms among ‘Resistance’ Factions Fighting Israel Adds to Lebanon’s Security Fears

Hezbollah members are seen at a military drill during a media tour in Armata, Lebanon. (Reuters)
Hezbollah members are seen at a military drill during a media tour in Armata, Lebanon. (Reuters)
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Proliferation of Arms among ‘Resistance’ Factions Fighting Israel Adds to Lebanon’s Security Fears

Hezbollah members are seen at a military drill during a media tour in Armata, Lebanon. (Reuters)
Hezbollah members are seen at a military drill during a media tour in Armata, Lebanon. (Reuters)

The military activity of five Lebanese and Palestinian factions in southern Lebanon has raised concerns in Lebanon over the post-war phase when the country will be confronted with the problem of collecting weapons in possession of so-called resistance factions.

Alarmingly, these groups appear to be in possession of heavy weapons. The Lebanese people already possess light weapons, which are remnants of the 1975-90 civil war, but heavy weapons, such as Katyusha rockets are now in possession of the so-called resistance factions, such as Hezbollah, the Amal movement and Jamaa al-Islamiya and the Palestinian Qassam Brigades – the armed wing of the Hamas movement – and the Islamic Jihad.

Five factions

The factions have not revealed how they were able to come into possession of such arms, but security circles speculated that they were probably smuggled through illegal border crossings and the illegal arms markets that are rampant across the globe.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, has previously declared that it boasts 100,000 fighters and Israel estimates that it possesses some 150,000 rockets. The other armed factions boast around dozens to hundreds of fighters.

Amal has said 17 of its members have been killed since the eruption of the fighting between Hezbollah and Israel in southern Lebanon in October. It has also said that it boasts fighters in “every border village” and that these fighters hail from the villages they are defending against attacks.

The Jamaa al-Islamiya has lost five fighters since the beginning of the war.

As for the Palestinian factions, official Palestinian figures have no tally of the number of fighters or their weapons.

Circles close to the Palestinian Fatah movement have said that they boast dozens of fighters and that their weapons are rockets that used to be in the possession of Palestinian resistance groups that were active in Lebanon.

Delayed discussions

In spite of the alarm over this new phenomenon and questions about how to address it after the war, the issue hasn’t been addressed on the political level, revealed parliamentary sources.

None of the political powers have a vision over how to handle the situation, they said.

Lebanon had previously suffered from the proliferation of arms during the civil war. The issue was resolved through the 1989 Taif Accord that helped end the war. All militias and armed groups, except for Hezbollah, agreed to lay down their arms and hand them over to the army.

Hezbollah kept its weapons because of its role as a resistance group fighting Israel’s then occupation of the South that ended in 2000. The party kept its weapons after the Israeli withdrawal.

Change bloc MP Ibrahim Mneimneh rejected the idea of simply having to accept the possession of weapons outside the authority of the state and justifications for it. He blamed the proliferation of arms on Hezbollah given the arsenal in its possession that has only grown since the Israeli withdrawal.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he also blamed the security forces’ “lax” approach in handling the possession of weapons outside state authority for the proliferation of weapons.

Limiting the possession of arms to the state is stipulated in the Lebanese constitution and Taif Accord, he stressed.

Moreover, he warned against attempts by the armed factions to achieve political gains in return for them laying down their arms.

“We reject the use of arms to impose new political equations,” he stressed.

Arab World

In Israel, Blinken Set to Push Netanyahu for Sustained Aid into Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his plane upon landing at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on April 30, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his plane upon landing at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on April 30, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
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In Israel, Blinken Set to Push Netanyahu for Sustained Aid into Gaza

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his plane upon landing at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on April 30, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from his plane upon landing at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv on April 30, 2024. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein / POOL / AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday kicked off a series of meetings with Israeli leaders discussing how to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza while at the same time repeatedly urged Palestinian Hamas group to accept a deal offer that will release hostages and achieve a ceasefire.
Following visits to Riyadh and Amman earlier this week, the top US diplomat is now in Israel for the final stop of his wider Middle East tour, Reuters said.
It is Blinken's seventh visit to the region which was plunged into conflict on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel.
Blinken's top priority in Israel will be to push the Israeli government to take a set of specific steps so that improvements in the humanitarian aid flow into the densely populated enclave.
"Even as we're working with relentless determination to get the ceasefire that brings the hostages home, we also have to be focused on people in Gaza for suffering in this crossfire of Hamas' making," Blinken said in remarks at the start of his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.
"Focused on getting them the assistance they need, the food, and medicine, the water or shelter is also very much on our minds," Blinken said.
Hamas killed 1,200 people and abducted 250 others in its Oct. 7 assault on Israel, according to Israeli tallies.
In response, Israel has launched a relentless assault on Gaza, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians, local health authorities say, in a bombardment that has reduced the enclave to a wasteland. More than one million people face famine after six months of war, the United Nations has said.
Blinken's check-in with Netanyahu on aid will take place about a month after US President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Netanyahu, saying Washington’s policy could shift if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.
Biden has threatened to condition support for Israel's offensive in Gaza on it taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians, seeking for the first time to leverage US aid to influence Israeli military behavior.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday there had been incremental progress toward averting "an entirely preventable, human-made famine" in the northern Gaza Strip, but called on Israel to do more.
The first shipments of aid directly from Jordan to northern Gaza's newly opened Erez crossing will leave on Tuesday, goods are also arriving via the port of Ashdod, and a new maritime corridor will be ready in about a week, Blinken said.

Arab World

Sudan Accuses UK of Obstructing UN Session to Deliberate 'Complaint Against UAE'

Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idriss (AP)
Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idriss (AP)
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Sudan Accuses UK of Obstructing UN Session to Deliberate 'Complaint Against UAE'

Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idriss (AP)
Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idriss (AP)

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday strongly protested Britain’s intervention at the UN Security Council, saying the UK delayed discussion on Sudan's complaint against UAE and changed the meeting format to closed consultations making participation by non-member states like Sudan no longer allowed.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets that the UK disregarded its moral and political responsibility as a permanent member of the Security Council,” the Ministry said in a statement.
It added that the UK position came in pursuit of its commercial interests with the Emirates, making it complacent in the atrocities committed by the terrorist militias and its main sponsor, as well as an advocate of impunity.
On April 26, Permanent Representative of Sudan to the United Nations, Al-Harith Idriss, requested an emergency Security Council meeting on what he called UAE “aggression” against his country. The meeting was scheduled for Monday, April 29. However, the UK intervened to alter the meeting's agenda and format, transforming it to closed consultations, and preventing Idriss from attending.
During the closed consultations, UN member states demanded that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan cease hostilities around Al-Fashir, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur, and commit to not attacking any city.
They, further, urged regional states to abide by the UNSC Resolution 1591's Darfur arms embargo.
They equally advocated for the resumption of the Jeddah talks, unhindered access to humanitarian aid, and adherence to international humanitarian law. The meeting did not discuss Sudan’s complaint against the Emirates. It only echoed the Council’s statement made on April 27.
On Tuesday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry described the British intervention at the Security as a “disgraceful move.”
It also criticized the “leniency” exhibited by the Western permanent members of the Security Council to the militia's atrocities and its “sponsor”, the UAE.
“Sudan will use all available means and avenues to safeguard its people, sovereignty, and dignity,” the Ministry statement affirmed.
“The Security Council's credibility and ability to carry out its responsibility in maintaining international peace and security while upholding the values and ideals of the United Nations Charter is currently seriously tested,” it added.

 

Arab World

Moroccan Government Approves Wage Increase of 1,000 Dirhams

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch (File/AAWSAT)
Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch (File/AAWSAT)
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Moroccan Government Approves Wage Increase of 1,000 Dirhams

Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch (File/AAWSAT)
Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch (File/AAWSAT)

The Moroccan government has approved to a wage increase of 1,000 Dirhams per month and a tax reduction of up to 500 Dirhams in the public sector.

Most Moroccan unions accepted the proposal which will be implemented in two stages.

The increase will cover sectors without recent pay raises and those ranked in the 9th pay scale and above.

The wage minimum and the lower salary increases are still under discussion.

Also, the government and unions have also agreed to reform the pension system by raising the age to 65 years.

Arab World

Residents of Northern Israel Brace for Possible All-out War with Hezbollah

An Israeli soldier looks on at a scene, after it was reported that people were injured, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
An Israeli soldier looks on at a scene, after it was reported that people were injured, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Residents of Northern Israel Brace for Possible All-out War with Hezbollah

An Israeli soldier looks on at a scene, after it was reported that people were injured, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
An Israeli soldier looks on at a scene, after it was reported that people were injured, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, near Arab al-Aramashe in northern Israel April 17, 2024. REUTERS/Avi Ohayon/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Eli Harel was an Israeli soldier in his early thirties when he was sent into Lebanon in 2006 to battle fighters from the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah in a bloody, largely inconclusive month-long war.
Now 50, Harel is ready to rejoin the army to fight the same group if shelling along Israel's northern border turns into a full-blown war with Iran's most powerful regional proxy. This time Israeli forces would face some of the most challenging fighting conditions imaginable, he said.
"There are booby traps everywhere," he told Reuters. "People are popping up from tunnels. You have to be constantly on alert otherwise you will be dead."
Harel lives in Haifa, Israel's third biggest city, well within range of Hezbollah's weapons. Haifa's mayor recently urged residents to stockpile food and medicine because of the growing risk of all-out war.
Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in escalating daily cross-border strikes over the past six months - in parallel with the war in Gaza - and their increasing range and sophistication has spurred fears of a wider regional conflict.
Hezbollah has amassed a formidable arsenal since 2006.
Like Hamas, the militant Palestinian group battling Israel in Gaza, Hezbollah has a network of tunnels to move fighters and weapons around. Its fighters have also been training for more than a decade with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
Hezbollah has so far restricted its attacks to a strip of northern Israel, seeking to draw Israeli forces away from Gaza. Israel has said it is ready to push Hezbollah back from the border, but it is unclear how.

Some 60,000 residents have had to leave their homes, in the first mass evacuation of northern Israel, and cannot safely return, prompting increased calls within Israel for firmer military action against Hezbollah. Across the border in Lebanon, some 90,000 people have also been displaced by Israeli strikes.
Eyal Hulata, a former Israeli national security adviser, said Israel should announce a date in the next few months when displaced Israeli civilians can return, effectively challenging Hezbollah to scale back its shelling or face all-out war.
"Israelis cannot be in exile in their own country. This cannot happen. It is the responsibility of the army to defend civilians. It is what we failed to do on Oct. 7," he said, referring to the Hamas attack on southern Israel that prompted the current war in Gaza
Hezbollah did not respond to a request for comment. The group's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in February that residents of northern Israel "will not return" to their homes.
The Israeli military said this month it had completed another step in preparing for possible war with Hezbollah that centred on logistics, including preparations for a "broad mobilization" of reservists.
A conflict between Israel and Hezbollah would probably result in massive destruction in both countries. In the 2006 war, 1,200 people in Lebanon were killed and 158 in Israel.
Since October, more than 300 people have died in fighting in the border area, mainly Hezbollah fighters.
If war did break out, Israel would probably bomb targets in southern Lebanon before soldiers tried to push at least 10 kilometres across the border. Hezbollah would likely use its estimated arsenal of over 150,000 rockets to target Israeli cities. In 2006 the group fired about 4,000 missiles at Israel.

Arab World

UN Chief Says ‘Incremental Progress’ toward Averting Gaza Famine

Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)
Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)
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UN Chief Says ‘Incremental Progress’ toward Averting Gaza Famine

Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)
Destroyed buildings in Khan Younis after the Israeli military pulled out troops from the southern Gaza Strip, 30 April 2024. (EPA)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said there has been incremental progress toward averting "an entirely preventable, human-made famine" in the northern Gaza Strip, but much more is urgently needed.

He specifically called on Israel to follow through on its promise to open two crossings into northern Gaza so aid can be delivered directly from Israel's Ashdod port and Jordan and to allow safe, rapid and unimpeded aid access throughout Gaza.

"A major obstacle to distributing aid across Gaza is the lack of security for humanitarians and the people we serve. Humanitarian convoys, facilities and personnel, and the people in need, must not be targets," he told reporters.

Israel pledged nearly a month ago to improve aid access after US President Joe Biden demanded steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying Washington could place conditions on support if Israel did not act.

"We must do everything possible to avert an entirely preventable, human-made famine," Guterres said. "We have seen incremental progress recently, but much more is urgently needed."

A UN-backed report published in March said famine was imminent and likely by May in northern Gaza, and could spread across the enclave of 2.3 million people by July.

"In northern Gaza, the most vulnerable – from sick children to people with disabilities – are already dying of hunger and disease," Guterres said.

He also appealed on Tuesday for states with influence over Israel "to do everything in their power" to prevent an Israeli assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1 million displaced Gaza Palestinians are sheltering.

NO ALTERNATIVE TO LAND ACCESS

When asked what leverage the US could use over its ally Israel to boost aid access and avert a Rafah assault, Guterres said: "It is very important to put all possible pressure in order to avoid what would be an absolutely devastating tragedy."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he will discuss with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday measures that Israel still needs to take to increase the flow of aid into Gaza.

Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday to go ahead with a long-promised assault, whatever the response by Hamas to the latest proposals for a halt to the fighting and a return of Israeli hostages.

"I strongly encourage the government of Israel and the Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement," Guterres said. "Without that, I fear the war, with all its consequences both in Gaza and across the region, will worsen exponentially."

The UN is in talks with the US about a floating pier it is constructing to allow maritime aid deliveries to Gaza from Cyprus. Guterres said: "We welcome aid delivery by air and sea, but there is no alternative to the massive use of land routes.

Israel's Deputy UN Ambassador Jonathan Miller said last week that Israel continued "to elevate and step up" its aid support and there had been substantial results with a "dramatic increase" in the volume of aid over the past several months.

Israel is retaliating against Hamas in Gaza over an Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel led by the armed group.

Israel says about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people were taken hostage in the assault, and Gaza health authorities say Israel has killed more than 34,000 people in its offensive in Gaza since then.

Arab World

US-Built Gaza Aid Pier to Be Ready within Days, Says Cyprus

This undated photo released early Tuesday, April 30, 2024, by the US military's Central Command shows construction off a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip. (US military's Central Command via AP)
This undated photo released early Tuesday, April 30, 2024, by the US military's Central Command shows construction off a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip. (US military's Central Command via AP)
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US-Built Gaza Aid Pier to Be Ready within Days, Says Cyprus

This undated photo released early Tuesday, April 30, 2024, by the US military's Central Command shows construction off a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip. (US military's Central Command via AP)
This undated photo released early Tuesday, April 30, 2024, by the US military's Central Command shows construction off a floating pier in the Mediterranean Sea off the Gaza Strip. (US military's Central Command via AP)

US forces were expected to complete a floating pier on Gaza's coast later this week, allowing more aid deliveries into the besieged Palestinian territory, the president of Cyprus said Tuesday.

The Mediterranean island nation hopes to be a hub for a "maritime corridor" to ship relief goods to the 2.4 million people of Gaza, who have been under Israeli bombardment and siege since Hamas launched its October 7 attack.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters the United States had informed his government that the floating dock would be ready by Thursday, roughly in line with earlier US timelines.

US President Joe Biden first announced the plan for the temporary pier on March 7. The Pentagon declared construction had started on April 25 and said it was expected to begin operating in early May.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has pledged EU involvement in the aid project, was on Thursday due to visit Cyprus, from where aid vessels have previously made the almost 400-kilometer (250-mile) voyage to Gaza.

Christodoulides said "all necessary preparations are being made" by Cyprus "in cooperation with the United States, the European Union and the United Arab Emirates, for the dispatch of humanitarian aid, once the green light is given by the United States".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a visit to Jordan to highlight humanitarian relief, said he expected the pier to be operational in the next week.

"We have a maritime corridor that we've been working on that, I'd say, about a week from now will be ready to go," Blinken told reporters.

Blinken said the pier would "significantly increase the assistance" but was not "a substitute" for greater land access.

The Spanish aid group Open Arms chartered the first vessel to arrive in Gaza from Cyprus, but its partner charity World Central Kitchen suspended its operation after the deaths of seven aid workers in an Israeli air strike in early April.

The US pier project will cost at least $320 million, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said this week.

Aid will be taken by commercial vessels to a floating platform off the Gaza coast, then transferred to smaller vessels and brought to the pier for distribution on land.

UN agencies and humanitarian aid groups have warned that sea missions and airdrops of aid are no alternative to far more efficient land deliveries.

Gaza has been devastated by the war which started with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of about 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 34,535 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

Arab World

Blinken Says He Will Press Netanyahu on Gaza Aid Measures

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press in front of truck with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, April 30, 2024. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press in front of truck with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, April 30, 2024. (Reuters)
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Blinken Says He Will Press Netanyahu on Gaza Aid Measures

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press in front of truck with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, April 30, 2024. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to the press in front of truck with humanitarian aid bound for Gaza at the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organization in Amman, Jordan, April 30, 2024. (Reuters)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he will discuss with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu measures that Israel still needs to take to increase the flow of aid into Gaza, as he holds meetings in the country on Wednesday.

Blinken spoke to reporters at a warehouse of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization where aid shipments from US-based charities are gathered. He said while there were some improvements in the humanitarian aid situation in the densely populated enclave, much more needed to be done to ensure assistance reaches people in a sustained manner.

"I'm now able to go to Israel tomorrow and go over with the Israeli government the things that still need to be done if the test is going to be met of making sure that people have what they need," Blinken said.

"And I'll be doing that tomorrow directly with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of the Israeli government," he said.

Blinken's check-in with Netanyahu on aid will take place about a month after US President Joe Biden issued a stark warning to Netanyahu, saying Washington’s policy could shift if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.

A spiraling humanitarian crisis has prompted calls from Israel's Western and Arab partners to do more to facilitate the entry of aid to the enclave, where most people are homeless, many face famine, and where civilian infrastructure is devastated and disease widespread.

The top US diplomat is on a tour of the Middle East, his seventh since the region plunged into conflict on Oct. 7 when Palestinian Hamas gunmen attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250 others, according to Israeli tallies.

In response, Israel has launched a relentless assault on Gaza, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians, local health authorities say, in a bombardment that has reduced the enclave to a wasteland. More than one million people risk famine, the United Nations warns, after six months of war.

Arab World

EU's Von Der Leyen to Unveil Aid for Lebanon to Stop Refugee Flows, Says Cyprus

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during a formal sitting on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 24 April 2024. (EPA)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during a formal sitting on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 24 April 2024. (EPA)
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EU's Von Der Leyen to Unveil Aid for Lebanon to Stop Refugee Flows, Says Cyprus

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during a formal sitting on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 24 April 2024. (EPA)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers a speech during a formal sitting on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 24 April 2024. (EPA)

The European Union will offer economic aid for Lebanon when the head of the bloc's executive and the Cypriot president jointly visit Beirut on Thursday, a Cypriot official said on Tuesday.

EU member Cyprus has grown increasingly concerned at a sharp increase in the number of Syrian refugees making their way to the Mediterranean island. Lebanon, a mere 100 miles (185 km) away from Cyprus, hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

"The President of the European Commission will present an economic aid package for Lebanon," Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis said in a statement.

President Ursula von der Leyen, due in Cyprus on Wednesday, would jointly travel to Beirut with the Cypriot President, Nikos Christodoulides on Thursday morning.

Discussions would focus on challenges Lebanon presently faces and stability reforms it needs, Letymbiotis said.

Nicosia has lobbied the bloc for months to extend aid to Lebanon similar to deals the EU has with Türkiye, Tunisia, and more recently, Egypt.

"The implementation of this (package) was at the initiative of President Christodoulides and the Republic of Cyprus and is practical proof of the active role the EU can play in our region," Letymbiotis said.

Lebanon, in the throes of an economic meltdown since 2019, has not enacted most of the reforms required by the International Monetary Fund to get access to its funding, but has asked friendly countries to continue backing it.

Some Lebanese officials have used the growing presence of migrants and refugees in the country as a bargaining chip, threatening to stop intercepting migrant boats destined for Europe unless Lebanon received more economic support.

Cyprus took in more than 2,000 Syrians who arrived by sea in the first quarter of this year, compared to just 78 in the same period of last year. Earlier this month, it took the unprecedented step of dispatching patrol vessels to international waters off Lebanon to discourage crossings and said it was suspending the processing of asylum applications from Syrians.