US Congressional Delegation Visits Khartoum, Backs Transition

President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan meets a US delegation in Khartoum on Tuesday (SUNA)
President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan meets a US delegation in Khartoum on Tuesday (SUNA)
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US Congressional Delegation Visits Khartoum, Backs Transition

President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan meets a US delegation in Khartoum on Tuesday (SUNA)
President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan meets a US delegation in Khartoum on Tuesday (SUNA)

Two high-ranking US officials said on Tuesday their visit to Khartoum aims at expressing support for the transition in Sudan and to follow up on Washington’s decision to make another $700 million available until Sept 2022 for assistance to the country.

Senator Chris Van Hollen and Senator Christopher Coons, member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, arrived in Khartoum Monday on a two-day visit.

They met with President of the Transitional Sovereignty Council Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and a number of ministers to discuss tension on the border between Sudan and Ethiopia and obstacles in the negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

“During talks with Hamdok, the US delegation expressed its deep concern over the tension on border issues between Sudan and Ethiopia and its repercussions on both countries,” Cabinet Affairs Minister Khalid Omer Yousif told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The US officials said Washington was willing to mediate in the dispute and contribute to reaching a peaceful agreement that meets the interests of all parties.

The minister said the senators also discussed US development aid to Sudan.

Following talks with the PM, he invited them to an Iftar, Yousif said.

The US delegation also discussed with the PM ways of boosting bilateral relations between the two countries.

Also on Tuesday, the delegation met with Burhan, who briefed them on Sudan’s vision to resolve differences on GERD through dialogue and on the border dispute with neighboring Ethiopia.

He also stressed the importance of allowing aid groups to provide services to Ethiopian refugees in eastern Sudan camps.

The two senators, which are expected to visit the camps on Wednesday, commended the role of the TSC President in leading the transition in Sudan.



Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said.

The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target".

"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.