Nile Dam Dispute Escalates Ahead of UN Security Council Debate

Ethiopia insists on filling the dam reservoir as a first stage in July without regarding Egypt and Sudan’s objections (AFP)
Ethiopia insists on filling the dam reservoir as a first stage in July without regarding Egypt and Sudan’s objections (AFP)
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Nile Dam Dispute Escalates Ahead of UN Security Council Debate

Ethiopia insists on filling the dam reservoir as a first stage in July without regarding Egypt and Sudan’s objections (AFP)
Ethiopia insists on filling the dam reservoir as a first stage in July without regarding Egypt and Sudan’s objections (AFP)

A dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the $4 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) escalated on Monday.

Cairo threatened “an open and clear procedure,” in case the UN Security Council fails to return Ethiopia to the negotiating table.

Ethiopia, for its part, began filling the dam reservoir unilaterally.

Addis Ababa stressed that “no internal or external force can prevent it from moving on with the filling process early July.”

Egypt referred the issue to the UN Security Council after Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan failed again last week to reach an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.

Ethiopia insists on filling the dam reservoir as a first stage in July, with about five billion cubic meters, without regard to Egypt and Sudan’s objections.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry challenged on Monday Ethiopia to “resume negotiations immediately since it declared abiding by its international obligations not to fill it unilaterally.”

Ethiopian Foreign Minister, for his part, accused Egypt of escaping from negotiations and resorting to the Security Council.

Shoukry affirmed his country has been engaged, in a spirit of good faith, for almost a decade, in innumerable rounds of negotiations on GERD to meet all parties’ interests.

Ethiopia refused to sign a final agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam earlier this year, under the auspice of the US Treasury and the World Bank.

“The UN Security Council shall shoulder its responsibility to prevent any harm to international peace and security by preventing Ethiopia from taking any unilateral action that negatively affects Egypt’s water rights,” he stressed in a statement.

The FM warned that filling the reservoir without an accord would violate the 2015 declaration of principles governing their talks — and rule out a return to negotiations.

Shoukry affirmed that the Egyptian government has not threatened military action, has sought a political solution and has worked to convince the Egyptian public that Ethiopia has a right to build the dam to meet its development goals.

“Egypt has never, never over the past six years even made an indirect reference to such possibilities.”

Yet, he further noted that if the Security Council fails to bring Ethiopia back into negotiations and the filling begins, Egypt “will find itself in a situation it has to deal with.”

“When that time comes, we will be very vocal and clear in what action we will take,” he stressed.

Starting to fill the reservoir now, he said, would demonstrate “a desire to control the flow of the water and have effective sole determination” of the water that reaches Egypt and Sudan.

He called on the US and other Security Council members, as well as African nations, to help reach a deal that “takes into account the interests of all three countries.”



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 24 Palestinians

A boy walks past a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike at Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on January 15, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A boy walks past a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike at Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on January 15, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Strikes Kill 24 Palestinians

A boy walks past a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike at Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on January 15, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A boy walks past a destroyed building in the aftermath of an Israeli strike at Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, on January 15, 2025, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

Gaza's civil defense agency said on Wednesday that Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people across the Palestinian territory, with Israel's military saying it had targeted Hamas militants overnight.

The latest violence, following more than 15 months of war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas, comes as truce mediator Qatar said negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal were in their "final stages”

The civil defense agency said in a statement that 11 bodies were brought to the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza Strip, after Israel struck a family home in Deir el-Balah city during the night.

A seven-year-old boy and three teenagers were among the dead, the agency said.

A separate strike targeted a school building used as shelter for war-displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, killing seven people and injuring several others, the civil defense agency said.

A third strike at dawn hit a house in the Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six people and injuring seven, the agency added.

The Israeli military confirmed that its forces had carried out multiple strikes overnight in Gaza, saying in a statement that they were "precise" and targeted "terrorist operatives.”

Over the past 24 hours, the military said it had struck more than 50 targets across the Gaza Strip.

Israel's military offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 46,707 Palestinians and wounded 110,265 since Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said on Wednesday.