Egyptian, Lebanese FMs Hold Talks on Sidelines of Arab Ministerial Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Egyptian, Lebanese FMs Hold Talks on Sidelines of Arab Ministerial Meeting

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry meets with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Kuwait on Sunday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry discussed on Sunday with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib bilateral relations and ways to bolster Egyptian and Arab efforts to support Lebanon.

During talks held on the sidelines of the consultative meeting of the Arab foreign ministers, currently hosted by Kuwait, the two officials also tackled the latest Lebanese political developments.

Shoukry stressed that Egypt's participation in the meeting aims at maintaining consultations with Arab countries to confront common challenges.

On Saturday, Shoukry met with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah for talks on relations between their countries.

Following the meeting, the Egyptian FM underscored the strong relations that unite their countries and peoples, and the importance of continuing to work on developing areas of bilateral cooperation in line with the deeply-rooted relations and the directives of the two countries’ leaderships.

Kuwait is current chair of the 156th session of the League Council at the level of Foreign Ministers.

Shoukry expressed Egypt’s hope to host this year the 13th session of the Egyptian-Kuwaiti Joint Ministerial Committee, which is the most comprehensive framework for promoting the various aspects of relations between the two countries, said the FM’s spokesperson, Ahmed Hafez.

Shoukry emphasized Egypt’s firm rejection of any interference in the affairs of Arab countries.

For his part, the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister stressed his country’s appreciation of Egypt’s role as a mainstay of security and stability in the region.

He also expressed Kuwait’s support for the tangible developmental boom that Egypt is witnessing, and for all that preserves Egypt’s security and stability, and achieves the interests of both countries and their aspiration towards further prosperity and development.



US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
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US, Arab Mediators Make Some Progress in Gaza Peace Talks, No Deal Yet

Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)
Palestinians inspect damaged residential buildings where two Israeli hostages were reportedly held before being rescued during an operation by Israeli security forces in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 12, 2024. (AP)

US and Arab mediators have made some progress in their efforts to reach a ceasefire accord between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, but not enough to seal a deal, Palestinian sources close to the talks said on Thursday.
As talks continued in Qatar, the Israeli military carried out strikes across the enclave, killing at least 17 people, Palestinian medics said.
Qatar, the US and Egypt are making a major push to reach a deal to halt fighting in the 15-month conflict and free remaining hostages held by the Hamas group before President Joe Biden leaves office.
President-elect Donald Trump has warned there will be "hell to pay", if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on Jan. 20.
On Thursday, a Palestinian official close to the mediation effort said the absence of a deal so far did not mean the talks were going nowhere and said this was the most serious attempt so far to reach an accord.
"There are extensive negotiations, mediators and negotiators are talking about every word and every detail. There is a breakthrough when it comes to narrowing old existing gaps but there is no deal yet," he told Reuters, without giving further details.
On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Ministry Director General Eden Bar-Tal said Israel was fully committed to reaching an agreement to return its hostages from Gaza but faces obstruction from Hamas.
The two sides have been at an impasse for a year over two key issues. Hamas has said it will only free its remaining hostages if Israel agrees to end the war and withdraw all its troops from Gaza. Israel says it will not end the war until Hamas is dismantled and all hostages are free.
SEVERE HUMANITARIAN CRISIS
On Thursday, the death toll from Israel's military strikes included eight Palestinians killed in a house in Jabalia, the largest of Gaza's eight historic refugee camps, where Israeli forces have operated for more than three months. Nine others, including a father and his three children, died in two separate airstrikes on two houses in central Gaza Strip, health officials said.
There was no Israeli military comment on the two incidents.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Gaza war, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory's 2.1 million people have been displaced multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
Israel denies hindering humanitarian relief to Gaza and says it has facilitated the distribution of hundreds of truckloads of food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to warehouses and shelters over the past week.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. On Wednesday, the Israeli military said troops had recovered the body of Israeli Bedouin hostage Youssef Al-Ziyadna, along with evidence that was still being examined suggesting his son Hamza, taken on the same day, may also be dead.
"We will continue to make every effort to return all of our hostages, the living and the deceased," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.