Bahrain, Qatar to Restore Diplomatic Ties

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi and the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. (QNA)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi and the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. (QNA)
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Bahrain, Qatar to Restore Diplomatic Ties

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi and the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. (QNA)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi and the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. (QNA)

Qatar and Bahrain agreed to restore diplomatic ties on Wednesday during the Bahraini-Qatari Follow-up Committee’s second meeting at the headquarters of the GCC General Secretariat in Riyadh.

The Bahraini delegation was headed by the Undersecretary for Political Affairs Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, and the Qatari delegation was headed by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al Hammadi.

The two sides affirmed that restoring ties stems from the mutual will to develop bilateral relations and enhance the Gulf unity and integration according to the GCC Charter and in respect of the principles of equality, national sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity, and good neighborliness between states.

Restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries came in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter and the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

During the meeting, the interlocutors discussed the topics on the agenda and reviewed the outcomes of the first meeting of the joint legal committee and the joint security committee.



Qatar Pledges Aid for Gaza as More Trucks Cross into the Territory

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
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Qatar Pledges Aid for Gaza as More Trucks Cross into the Territory

 This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows an afternoon view of destroyed buildings in Gaza, on January 20, 2025, following a ceasefire deal a day earlier between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. (AFP)

Qatar on Monday announced plans to supply post-ceasefire Gaza with resources via a “land bridge” at Kerem Shalom, on the border between Egypt, Israel and the coastal Palestinian enclave.

After sending 25 fuel trucks to Gaza on Monday, Qatar plans to supply Gaza with 3.3 million gallons (12.5 million liters) of fuel over the next 10 days, its Foreign Ministry said. The fuel is intended to provide basic services and power hospitals and shelters.

Over the course of the 16-month war, the majority of aid has crossed into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, although it has intermittently closed amid disagreements over what kind of aid can be allowed into the strip. Israel previously restricted entry of some equipment, arguing it could be used for military purposes by Hamas.

Allowing more aid into Gaza is a central tenet of the ceasefire deal’s first phase and will be key to later reconstruction efforts. The deal allows for hundreds of trucks — more than Israel has previously allowed — to deliver aid to Gaza.

Egypt’s state-run press center said Monday that at least 300 aid trucks entered Kerem Shalom and the Nitzana crossing to the south since the ceasefire took effect, as well as 12 diesel trucks and four gas trucks.

However, some of those trucks have carried food aid labeled for UNRWA, the UN agency that Israel has vowed to ban from operating even as it remains the primary distributor of aid in Gaza.

Truck drivers told The Associated Press that throughout the war, vehicles have been turned back for minor bureaucratic infractions or not having aid properly packaged or wrapped.

“If items are approved, we unload them and head back to Egypt ... Some trucks have to drive all the way back with packages they left with that contain expired food aid or that the driver’s or truck information is not listed correctly,” driver Hamdy Emad said.