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Egypt, Qatar Optimistic about Developing Ties

The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egypt, Qatar Optimistic about Developing Ties

The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
The meeting of the Egyptian delegation and its Qatari counterpart in the presence of the foreign ministers of the two countries in Doha yesterday (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani expressed satisfaction with the positive developments in Egyptian-Qatari relations following the signing of the AlUla Statement on 5 January in Saudi Arabia.

Shoukry traveled Sunday to Doha to deliver a message from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The Egyptian minister will take part during his visit in the consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers, which will be held at the invitation of Qatar on Tuesday.

His visit comes a few weeks after his Qatari counterpart led a delegation on a visit to Cairo, during which he met Sisi and delivered an official invitation to visit Qatar.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said in a statement that they both agreed on the importance of taking the necessary steps to build on previous achievements.

This would occur by reactivating the various bilateral cooperation frameworks and continuing to hold the existing follow-up mechanisms. It would take place as part of efforts to settle all outstanding issues between the two countries during the coming period.

It was also agreed to advance aspects of bilateral cooperation in priority sectors to achieve the interests of the two countries and brotherly peoples.

Hafez added that the meeting dealt with the most prominent current challenges facing the Arab countries and the regional arena.

The consultative Arab League meeting scheduled for Tuesday was also discussed, which will address the major regional issues and ways to deal with external interventions harmful to Arab national security.

The talks also dealt with the visions and positions of the two countries on issues of common concern at the regional and international levels.

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Israel Says it Struck Hezbollah Weapons Smuggling Sites in Syria, Testing a Fragile Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: Israeli soldiers patrol in Adaisseh village, southern Lebanon, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, as seen from Israel's side of the border, in northern Israel, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli soldiers patrol in Adaisseh village, southern Lebanon, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, as seen from Israel's side of the border, in northern Israel, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo
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Israel Says it Struck Hezbollah Weapons Smuggling Sites in Syria, Testing a Fragile Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: Israeli soldiers patrol in Adaisseh village, southern Lebanon, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, as seen from Israel's side of the border, in northern Israel, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Israeli soldiers patrol in Adaisseh village, southern Lebanon, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, as seen from Israel's side of the border, in northern Israel, November 28, 2024. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov/File Photo

Israeli aircraft struck Hezbollah weapons smuggling sites along Syria's border with Lebanon, the Israeli military said Saturday, testing a fragile, days-old ceasefire that halted months of fighting between the sides but has seen continued sporadic fire.
The military said it struck sites that had been used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Lebanon after the ceasefire took effect, which the military said was a violation of its terms. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or activists monitoring the conflict in that country. Hezbollah also did not immediately comment, The Associated Press said.
The Israeli strike, the latest of several since the ceasefire began on Wednesday, came as unrest spread to other areas of the Middle East, with Syrian insurgents breaching the country's largest city, Aleppo, in a shock offensive that added fresh uncertainty to a region reeling from multiple wars.
The truce between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, brokered by the United States and France, calls for an initial two-month ceasefire in which the militants are to withdraw north of Lebanon's Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border.
The repeated bursts of violence — with no reports of serious casualties — reflected the uneasy nature of the ceasefire that otherwise appeared to hold. While Israel has accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire, Lebanon has also accused Israel of the same in the days since it took effect.
Many Lebanese, some of the 1.2 million displaced in the conflict, were streaming south to their homes, despite warnings by the Israeli and Lebanese militaries to stay away from certain areas.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone attacked a car in the southern village of Majdal Zoun. The agency said there had been casualties but gave no further details. Majdal Zoun, near the Mediterranean Sea, is close to where Israeli troops still have a presence.
The military said earlier Saturday that its forces, who remain in southern Lebanon until they withdraw gradually over the 60-day period, had been operating to distance “suspects” in the region, without elaborating, and said troops had located and seized weapons found hidden in a mosque.
Israel says it reserves the right under the ceasefire to strike against any perceived violations. Israel has made returning the tens of thousands of displaced Israelis home the goal of the war with Hezbollah but Israelis, concerned Hezbollah was not deterred and could still attack northern communities, have been apprehensive about returning home.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, in solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas and its assault on southern Israel the day before. Israel and Hezbollah kept up a low-level conflict of cross-border fire for nearly a year, until Israel escalated its fight with a sophisticated attack that detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah fighters. It followed that up with an intense aerial bombardment campaign against Hezbollah assets, killing many of its top leaders including longtime chief Hassan Nasrallah, and it launched a ground invasion in early October.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.