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Haniyeh to Visit Cairo to Discuss Ceasefire, Gaza Reconstruction

Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)
Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)
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Haniyeh to Visit Cairo to Discuss Ceasefire, Gaza Reconstruction

Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)
Destruction in the Gaza Strip as a result of the recent Israeli air strikes. (AFP)

Palestinian Hamas Movement said its Chief Ismail Haniyeh will visit Cairo to hold talks over a lasting ceasefire and rebuilding Gaza.

Hamas has set several conditions to maintain ceasefire, said its spokesman Abdel-Latif al-Qanou, including halting aggression in Jerusalem, ending the displacement of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood and preventing all what could re-incite violence.

He also affirmed that the movement is ready to accept all the offers to reconstruct the enclave as soon as possible.

Another Hamas spokesman, Hamza Qassem, said the scheduled visit comes in line with Cairo’s efforts to curb the Israeli aggression against Palestinians and follow up the reconstruction process.

Haniyeh will head a high-ranking delegation in the few coming days, he added, without specifying a date.

Cairo had intensified its efforts to reach a truce in Gaza and is now leading coordinated efforts with the United State to push forward a new political process in the region that includes comprehensive calm and rebuilding of the Strip.

The US, Egypt, Qatar, the European Union and the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland have also been engaged in talks to rebuild Gaza.

They consider the Palestinian Authority the “legitimate” party to discuss the process with rather than Hamas.

According to Israeli media, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Israel will only agree on rebuilding Gaza when a joint mechanism is formed to “prevent Hamas from gaining extra power.”

Ashkenazi presented to his US counterpart a plan to provide aid to Gaza while separating between the “basic humanitarian aid, such as water and electricity” and reconstruction.

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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
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UNDP Plans for $1.3Bln in Help for Syria

People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
People wait their turn in a queue outside an ATM in Damascus on April 16, 2025. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)

The United Nations Development Program is hoping to deliver $1.3 billion over three years to support war-ravaged Syria, including by rebuilding infrastructure and backing digital start-ups, its assistant secretary-general told Reuters.
Abdallah Dardari told Reuters in Damascus that investing in Syria - hit hard by 14 years of conflict that ended when former leader Bashar al-Assad was ousted by a rebel offensive in December and fled the country - was seen as a "global public good."
"Our total plan for Syria over three years is $1.3 billion. This is not just a number, but a comprehensive strategy covering all support aspects," Dardari said. He said that help could include introducing artificial intelligence, setting up social protection programs and rebuilding infrastructure.
He said it would be crucial to mobilize funds from different sources including the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as well as other countries in the region.
Since Assad was toppled last year after a nearly 14-year civil war, his successors have called on the international community to lift sanctions imposed against the country during his rule.
So far, most of those sanctions remain in place, with the United States and other Western countries saying the new authorities still need to demonstrate a commitment to peaceful and inclusive rule.
Syria has $563 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at the IMF. But using the funds requires approval by IMF members holding 85% of the total votes, giving the United States, with 16.5% of the votes, an effective veto.
Syria's finance minister, central bank governor and foreign minister are planning on attending the spring meetings next week, Reuters reported earlier this month.
It would be the first visit to the meetings by a high-level Syrian government delegation in at least two decades, and the first high-level visit by Syria's new authorities to the US Assad's fall.
Washington has handed Syria a list of conditions which, if fulfilled, could lead to some sanctions relief, Reuters reported last month. Dardari said that sanctions remained "a considerable obstacle" to Syria's growth trajectory.
"Syria needs tens of billions of dollars in investments and in technical assistance and so on, and that cannot happen with such heavy sanctions imposed on the country," he said, calling for sanctions "to be lifted in a comprehensive manner." Dardari said UNDP had secured a sanctions exemption from the US Treasury to mobilize up to $50 million to repair the Deir Ali power plant south of Damascus.
Three sources familiar with the issue told Reuters the World Bank is exploring hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to improve Syria's electricity grid and support the public sector.
Syria's central bank governor Abdelkader Husrieh told Reuters that his country wanted to be compliant with global financial standards but that sanctions were still "blocking the economy from going forward".
"We want to be part of the international financial system and hope that the international community will help us to remove any obstacle to this integration," he said.