Israeli Delegation Secretly Visited Sudan

Head of Sudan's Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AFP)
Head of Sudan's Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AFP)
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Israeli Delegation Secretly Visited Sudan

Head of Sudan's Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AFP)
Head of Sudan's Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (AFP)

An Israeli delegation of security officials met with senior Sudanese military officials during a secret visit to Khartoum earlier this week, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported Friday, citing Sudanese sources.

The delegation also met with head of Sudan's Sovereign Transitional Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who stated several times that ties with Israel stand on intelligence, security, and military cooperation.

This is the third visit for a security Israeli delegation in six months.

An envoy was sent by Burhan to Israel in February 2022.

Sudan is the third Arab country to sign the US-brokered Abraham Accords with Israel after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Sudan moved toward normalizing ties with Israel in 2020.

In 2021, Sudan’s ruling sovereignty council and cabinet voted to abolish the Israel boycott law as part of the normalization of ties between the two countries. The law had been in force since 1958.

However, steps toward full normalization of ties have not been completed yet.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.