Egypt, US Agree on Boosting Military Cooperation

Representatives of the forces participating in the Bright Star (Egyptian military spokesman)
Representatives of the forces participating in the Bright Star (Egyptian military spokesman)
TT

Egypt, US Agree on Boosting Military Cooperation

Representatives of the forces participating in the Bright Star (Egyptian military spokesman)
Representatives of the forces participating in the Bright Star (Egyptian military spokesman)

Egypt and the US have agreed on reinforcing military cooperation in the coming phase.

The agreement came during a meeting between Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Mohamed Farid and Commander of the US Central Command General Kenneth McKenzie and his accompanying delegation.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the follow-up of the Bright Star 2021 joint military exercise.

The Bright Star 2021, hosted by Egypt, kicked off at the Mohamed Naguib military base in the Northern Military Zone on Sep. 2.

Twenty-one countries are taking part in the two-week drills which conclude on Sept 17.

The size of the participant forces makes Bright Star 2021 the largest and most important military training exercise globally, said the Egyptian chief of military staff at the ceremonial launch of the event.

According to an Egyptian statement, they emphasized the importance of training as it is a place to exchange expertise. Training provides a rich military environment to get introduced to new weaponry.

McKenzie expressed admiration of the Egyptian armed forces' capabilities in terms of organizing the event, which is one of the prime and biggest trainings in the Middle East.

Farid and McKenzie made a tour and checked on the command-and-control centers to follow up on the work mechanisms, which depend on joint planning to administer training tasks.

McKenzie further praised the combat capacity of the participating members, as well as the training and administrative potentials at the base in addition to the training fields.



Gazans Shed Tears of Joy, Disbelief at News of Ceasefire Deal

Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

Gazans Shed Tears of Joy, Disbelief at News of Ceasefire Deal

Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)
Palestinians react to news of a ceasefire agreement with Israel, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, 15 January 2025. (EPA)

Palestinians burst into celebration across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday at news of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with some shedding tears of joy and others whistling and clapping and chanting "God is greatest".

"I am happy, yes, I am crying, but those are tears of joy," said Ghada, a mother of five displaced from her home in Gaza City during the 15-month-old conflict.

"We are being reborn, with every hour of delay Israel conducted a new massacre, I hope it is all getting over now," she told Reuters via a chat app from a shelter in Deir al-Balah town in central Gaza.

Youths beat tambourines, blew horns and danced in the street in Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave minutes after hearing news of the agreement struck in the Qatari capital Doha. The deal outlines a six-week initial ceasefire phase and includes the gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The accord also provides for the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian detainees held by Israel, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.

For some, delight was mingled with sorrow.

Ahmed Dahman, 25, said the first thing he would do when the deal goes into effect is to recover the body of his father, who was killed in an airstrike on the family's house last year, and "give him a proper burial."

'A DAY OF HAPPINESS AND SADNESS'

"I feel a mixture of happiness because lives are being saved and blood is being stopped," said Dahman, who like Ghada was displaced from Gaza City and lives in Deir al-Balah.

"But I am also worried about the post-war shock of what we will see in the streets, our destroyed homes, my father whose body is still under the rubble."

His mother, Bushra, said that while the ceasefire wouldn't bring her husband back, "at least it may save other lives."

"I will cry, like never before. This brutal war didn't give us time to cry," said the tearful mother, speaking to Reuters by a chat app.

Iman Al-Qouqa, who lives with her family in a nearby tent, was still in disbelief.

"This is a day of happiness, and sadness, a shock and joy, but certainly it is a day we all must cry and cry long because of what we all lost. We did not lose friends, relatives, and homes only, we lost our city, Israel sent us back in history because of its brutal war," she told Reuters.

"It is time the world comes back into Gaza, focuses on Gaza, and rebuilds it," said Qouqa.

Israeli troops invaded Gaza after Hamas-led gunmen broke through security barriers and burst into Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 soldiers and civilians and abducting more than 250 foreign and Israeli hostages. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 46,000 people, according to Gaza health ministry figures, and left the coastal enclave a wasteland, with many thousands living in makeshift shelters.