Turkey To Take ‘New Steps’ towards Normalizing Ties With Egypt

File photo. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal (L) (AFP)
File photo. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal (L) (AFP)
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Turkey To Take ‘New Steps’ towards Normalizing Ties With Egypt

File photo. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal (L) (AFP)
File photo. Egypt's Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Sanad Loza (R) meets with his Turkish counterpart Sedat Onal (L) (AFP)

Turkey announced that it will take more steps to normalize relations with Egypt, but denied appointing a new ambassador to Cairo.

“Ankara and Cairo are taking positive steps and ambassadors will be reciprocally appointed when the time is right,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters after a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.

The Minister denied recent reports that his country appointed an ambassador to Egypt, adding that a new Charge d'Affaires will be appointed to replace the current one whose mandate has expired.

The Turkish statements came months after Cairo and Ankara held "exploratory talks" to address bilateral relations and several regional issues, aiming to normalize ties between the two countries.

Former Assistant Foreign Minister Ambassador Ali Al Hefni told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that there is a common will in Cairo and Ankara to address their problems, even if gradually.

“The progress of relations could have been faster than that if Ankara had the desire to deal more decisively with some issues that represent a priority for the Egyptian state,” he said.

Relations between Ankara and Cairo deteriorated in 2013 over the Turkish position on the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood rule in Egypt and its support for the group that the Egyptian authorities have designated a terrorist organization.

While the two countries withdrew their ambassadors simultaneously, their embassies remained open and continued to work at the Chargé d'Affaires level over the past eight years.

Meanwhile, Turkish diplomatic sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that it will take time to see relations between the countries back to normal.

“The normalization steps are progressing slowly,” the sources said, attributing the delay to the conditions set by Cairo for restoring relations with Ankara.

Although Al-Hefni had stressed that relations between the two countries still need some time before being completely repaired, due to unresolved issues, he confirmed that the steps taken until now were good.

The Turkish sources said that Ankara is working on the file of the Muslim Brotherhood, noting that it is not considered the main obstacle hampering the normalization of relations.

“It is one of the important files in which Cairo wants Ankara to show a clear position,” the sources said.

During the past months, Turkey took steps that Cairo described as "positive," after Ankara ordered Istanbul-based channels affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood to stop airing criticism and incitement against Egyptian authorities.



Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
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Gaza Civil Defense Says Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 29

A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer
A Palestinian girl, wounded in an Israeli strike that killed people, who gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, receives treatment at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. REUTERS/Stringer

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli airstrikes on Sunday killed at least 29 Palestinians, including six children near a water distribution point.

The attacks came with apparent deadlock in a week of indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the territory.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that Gaza City was hit by several strikes overnight and in the early morning, killing eight, "including women and children" and wounding others.

An Israeli airstrike hit a family home near the Nuseirat refugee camp, south of Gaza City, resulting in "10 martyrs and several injured", Bassal said.

In central Gaza, six children were among eight people killed when a drone "hit a potable water distribution point in an area for displaced people" in the Nuseirat camp, he added.

Several other people were wounded, he said.

In the territory's south, three people were killed when Israeli jets hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the coastal Al-Mawasi area, according to the civil defense spokesman.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military, which has recently intensified its operations across Gaza, more than 21 months into the war triggered by Hamas's October 2023 attack.

On Saturday, the military said fighter jets had hit more than 35 "Hamas terror targets" around Beit Hanun in northern Gaza.

The vast majority of Gaza's population of more than two million people have been displaced at least once during the war, which has created dire humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defense agency and other parties.