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Egypt Develops Water Network as Ethiopia Beings Producing Electricity from GERD

A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
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Egypt Develops Water Network as Ethiopia Beings Producing Electricity from GERD

A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)
A general view shows the River Nile with houses and farmland in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters file photo)

The Egyptian government said Tuesday it continues to implement its comprehensive plan to develop the country’s water network.

The government’s efforts come in light of a national comprehensive development plan to address limited water resources, a population increase and the ongoing dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River.

Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aty said the comprehensive development process of the water network aims to rationalize water use, rehabilitate canals and ensure sustainable development for agricultural projects.

The African nation suffers from water shortages, as it needs 114 billion cubic meters annually, while it only has 74 billion meters available.

To confront these challenges, Egypt set a plan to develop the irrigation system, replace and rehabilitate drainage and irrigation stations and spread awareness among citizens to conserve water.

The Nile water accounts for more than 90 percent of Egypt’s needs, or 55.5 billion cubic meters.

Cairo is anticipating a water shortage as Ethiopia began producing electricity on Sunday from GERD.

Cairo denounced the move, saying Addis Ababa was “persisting in its violations” of a 2015 Declaration of Principles, which prohibits any of the parties from taking unilateral actions in the use of the river’s water.

According to official media, only one of 13 turbines is currently operational, with a capacity of 375 megawatts.

Egypt has embarked on implementing a strategy to manage and meet water demand until 2037, with investments nearing $50 million.

The program includes building seawater desalination plants and wastewater recycling plants with triple treatment.

Abdel-Aty held a meeting on Tuesday to follow up on the implementation process of the canal rehabilitation project and the switch to modern irrigation systems in al-Qalyubia Governorate, north of Cairo.

The ministry targets rehabilitating canals with lengths of up to 500 km in the governorate and switching from flood irrigation to modern irrigation systems in an area of 60,000 feddans by late June.

Work is underway to rehabilitate canals with 88 km lengths, of which 17 km have been completed so far.

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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
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Lebanon Military Says One Soldier Killed, 18 Hurt in Israeli Strike on Army Center

Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb
Lebanese army soldiers and people stand at the site of an Israeli strike in the town of Baaloul, in the western Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 19, 2024. REUTERS/Maher Abou Taleb

An Israeli strike on a Lebanese army center on Sunday killed one soldier and wounded 18 others, the Lebanese military said.

It was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes that have killed over 40 Lebanese troops, even as the military has largely kept to the sidelines in the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has said previous strikes on Lebanese troops were accidental and that they are not a target of its campaign against Hezbollah.

Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned it as an assault on US-led ceasefire efforts, calling it a “direct, bloody message rejecting all efforts and ongoing contacts” to end the war.

“(Israel is) again writing in Lebanese blood a brazen rejection of the solution that is being discussed,” a statement from his office read.

The strike occurred in southwestern Lebanon on the coastal road between Tyre and Naqoura, where there has been heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles and drones into Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of the Gaza Strip ignited the war there. Hezbollah has portrayed the attacks as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas. Iran supports both armed groups.

Israel has launched retaliatory airstrikes since the rocket fire began, and in September the low-level conflict erupted into all-out war, as Israel launched waves of airstrikes across large parts of Lebanon and killed Hezbollah's top leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and several of his top commanders.

Israeli airstrikes early Saturday pounded central Beirut, killing at least 20 people and wounding 66, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Hezbollah has continued to fire regular barrages into Israel, forcing people to race for shelters and occasionally killing or wounding them.

Israeli attacks have killed more than 3,500 people in Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. The fighting has displaced about 1.2 million people, or a quarter of Lebanon’s population.

On the Israeli side, about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed by bombardments in northern Israel and in battle following Israel's ground invasion in early October. Around 60,000 Israelis have been displaced from the country's north.

Hezbollah fired barrages of rockets into northern and central Israel on Sunday, some of which were intercepted.

Israel's Magen David Adom rescue service said it was treating two people in the central city of Petah Tikva, a 23-year-old man who was lightly wounded by a blast and a 70-year-old woman suffering from smoke inhalation from a car that caught fire. The first responders said they also treated two women in their 50s who were wounded in northern Israel.

It was unclear whether the injuries and damage were caused by the rockets or interceptors.

The Biden administration has spent months trying to broker a ceasefire, and US envoy Amos Hochstein was back in the region last week.

The emerging agreement would pave the way for the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops from southern Lebanon below the Litani River in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 war. Lebanese troops would patrol the area, with the presence of UN peacekeepers.