Sudanese Delegation Set to Visit Israel

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudanese Delegation Set to Visit Israel

The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council meets with the Israeli Foreign Minister. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

A high-ranking Sudanese delegation is expected in Israel in the coming days, a political source in Tel Aviv has revealed.

The upcoming visit will follow that of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Khartoum two weeks ago, during which he met his Sudanese counterpart as well as the head of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and other senior officials.

The Sudanese delegation will hold talks in Jerusalem on the draft peace agreement to advance bilateral relations.

The delegation will be headed by a Sudanese general who is also a minister.

During his visit to Khartoum, Cohen discussed the draft peace agreement between Israel and Sudan.

After his return, the minister said the deal should be signed this year after the transfer of power to a civilian government in Khartoum.

Sudan would thus become the fourth country to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords, after the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.

During his discussions, Cohen spoke of Israel's willingness to assist Sudan's development efforts in various areas, including security, food, water resources management, and agriculture.

Both sides are expected to hold intensive talks on the agreement so that it is ready by the time power is transferred to civilians in Khartoum.



Drone Strike in Israel Wounds Almost 40 as Hezbollah Is Blamed

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)
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Drone Strike in Israel Wounds Almost 40 as Hezbollah Is Blamed

The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)
The Israeli Iron Dome air defense system intercepts a missile fired from south Lebanon over the western Galilee, northern Israel, 13 October 2024. (EPA)

Israeli rescue services said almost 40 people were wounded in a drone strike in the central city of Binyamina on Sunday, three of them critically. The Hezbollah armed group was blamed for one of the most serious strikes to land in Israel in a year of war.

Israel’s advanced air-defense systems mean that it's rare for so many people to be hurt by drones or missiles. Israeli media reported that two drones were launched from Lebanon, and Israel's military said one was intercepted.

It was not immediately clear who was hurt, military or civilians, or what was hit.

It was the second time in two days that a drone has struck in Israel. On Saturday, during the Israeli holiday of Yom Kippur, a drone struck in a suburb of Tel Aviv, causing damage but no injuries.

The strike came on the same day that the United States announced it would send a new air-defense system to Israel to help bolster its protection against missiles.

Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — both Iran-backed armed groups — and is expected to strike Iran in retaliation for a missile attack earlier this month, though it has not said how or when. Iran has said it will respond to any Israeli attack.

A year into the war with Hamas, Israel continues to strike what it says are militant targets in Gaza nearly every day. One strike late Saturday hit a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing the parents and their six children, ages 8 to 23, according to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah. An Associated Press reporter counted the bodies there.

“They were safe, while he was sleeping, and he and all his children died,” said the man's brother, Mohammad Abu Ghali. Women stroked the body bags, in tears.

Israel's military says it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames their deaths on Hamas and other armed groups because they operate in densely populated areas.