Dar Al Ifta’s 7th Intl. Conference in Egypt Focuses on Sustainable Development

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam delivering the first speech at the Dar al-Ifta 7th international conference titled “Fatwa and Sustainable Development Goals.”
Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam delivering the first speech at the Dar al-Ifta 7th international conference titled “Fatwa and Sustainable Development Goals.”
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Dar Al Ifta’s 7th Intl. Conference in Egypt Focuses on Sustainable Development

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam delivering the first speech at the Dar al-Ifta 7th international conference titled “Fatwa and Sustainable Development Goals.”
Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam delivering the first speech at the Dar al-Ifta 7th international conference titled “Fatwa and Sustainable Development Goals.”

Egypt's Dar al-Ifta 7th international conference titled “Fatwa and Sustainable Development Goals,” kicked off on Monday under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

An official statement issued during the conference stated that it will tackle “studies on sustainable development in light of Egypt’s hosting of the climate change summit in November.”

The conference will consider the social, environmental, and economic dimensions and the proper utilization of the available resources to meet the needs of individuals in light of current climate repercussions.

Scholars and Muftis from 90 countries are attending the religious event along with representatives of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.

A documentary was screened at the start of the meeting to clarify the targets of religions and the importance of development as part of sustainability.

Egypt’s Grand Mufti Shawki Allam delivered the opening speech at the conference. Minister of Awqaf Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa addressed the event on behalf of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli.

Undersecretary of Al-Azhar Mohamed el-Dawiny also delivered a speech on behalf of Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed el-Tayeb.

Several important themes are at the top of the conference’s agenda.

The conference will highlight the role of fatwas in eliminating poverty and hunger and achieving the well-being of peoples.

It also discusses ways to re-establish human awareness towards environmental and climate issues.

Moreover, conference attendees will address the relationship between fatwas and sustainable development and how to contribute to climate protection.

The role of fatwas in facing development obstacles and supporting the national economy will also be discussed.

The conference will witness the launch of several global initiatives, including the announcement of an advisory charter to confront climate change.



Qatar Urges the Urgency of a Gaza Ceasefire after 'Positive Response' from Hamas

 Parachutes drop supplies into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Parachutes drop supplies into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Qatar Urges the Urgency of a Gaza Ceasefire after 'Positive Response' from Hamas

 Parachutes drop supplies into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Parachutes drop supplies into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A key mediator on Tuesday stressed the urgency of brokering a ceasefire in Gaza after Hamas showed a “positive response” to a proposal, but Israel has yet to weigh in as its military prepares an offensive on some of the territory's most populated areas.

The prospect of an expanded assault on areas sheltering hundreds of thousands of civilians has sparked condemnation inside Israel and abroad. Most war-weary Palestinians see no place in Gaza as safe, not even declared humanitarian zones, after 22 months of war.

Many Israelis, who rallied in the hundreds of thousands on Sunday, fear the offensive will further endanger the remaining hostages in Gaza. Just 20 of the 50 remaining are thought to be alive, The AP news reported.

“If this (ceasefire) proposal fails, the crisis will exacerbate,” Majed al-Ansari, a spokesperson for Qatar's foreign ministry, told journalists, adding they have yet to hear from Israel on it.

Witkoff is invited to rejoin the talks Qatar is among the countries mediating to end the war. Al-Ansari said Hamas had agreed to terms under discussion. He declined to provide details but said the proposal was “almost identical” to one previously advanced by US envoy Steve Witkoff.

That US proposal was for a 60-day ceasefire, during which some of the remaining hostages would be released and the sides would negotiate a lasting ceasefire and the return of the rest.

“If we get to a deal, it shouldn’t be expected that it would be instantaneously implemented,” al-Ansari said. “We’re not there yet.”

That cautious assessment came a day after the foreign minister of Egypt, another mediator, said they were were pushing for a phased deal and noted that Qatar's prime minister had joined the talks between Hamas leaders and Arab mediators.

Witkoff has been invited to rejoin the talks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told The AP news. Witkoff pulled out of negotiations less than a month ago, accusing Hamas of not acting in good faith.

It was not clear how Witkoff has responded to the invitation.

An Israeli official on Monday said the country's positions, including on the release of all hostages, had not changed. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said a final push is needed to “complete the defeat of Hamas" He has vowed to continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been disarmed.

28 Palestinians killed in Gaza Hospitals in Gaza said they had received the bodies of 28 Palestinians killed Tuesday, including women and children, as Israeli strikes continued across the territory. Among them were nine people killed while seeking aid, officials at two hospitals told The AP news.

The deaths were recorded across Gaza, including in central Deir al-Balah, southern Khan Younis and near aid distribution points, hospital officials said.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an Israeli-backed private American contractor that has become the primary distributor of aid in Gaza since May, operates those sites.

Nasser Hospital also said an airstrike killed a mother, father and three children in their tent overnight in Muwasi, a camp for hundreds of thousands of civilians.

“An entire family was gone in an instant. What was their fault?” the children’s grandfather, Majed al-Mashwakhi, said, sobbing.

Neither the GHF nor Israel’s military immediately responded to questions about the casualties reported by Nasser, Awda and al-Aqsa hospitals.

The Palestinian death toll in the war surpassed 62,000 on Monday, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The ministry does not say how many of the dead were civilians or combatants, but says women and children make up around half of them.

In addition to that toll, other Palestinians have died from malnutrition and starvation, including three reported in the past 24 hours, the ministry said Tuesday. It says 154 adults have died of malnutrition-related causes since late June, when it began counting such deaths, and 112 children have died of malnutrition-related causes since the war began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Aid groups continue to struggle to deliver supplies to Gaza. Israel imposed a full blockade in March, then allowed limited aid to resume two and a half months later. The Israeli military body in charge of humanitarian aid to Gaza, COGAT, said 370 trucks of aid entered Tuesday — still below the 600 per day that the United Nations and partners say is needed.

A new attempt to deliver aid by sea Israel has controlled all Gaza border crossings since seizing the Palestinian side of Rafah in May 2024. With land routes restricted, aid groups have attempted to deliver supplies by air and sea.

COGAT said Tuesday that 180 pallets of aid were airdropped into Gaza with help from countries including Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and France. The UN and partners have called airdrops expensive, inefficient and even dangerous for people on the ground.

A ship carrying 1,200 tons of food left Cyprus on Tuesday for the Israeli port of Ashdod loaded with pasta, rice, baby food and canned goods that were pre-screened in Cyprus.