Official: US Wants Khartoum, Tel Aviv to Normalize Ties Before Elections

 Sudanese Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (EPA)
Sudanese Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (EPA)
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Official: US Wants Khartoum, Tel Aviv to Normalize Ties Before Elections

 Sudanese Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (EPA)
Sudanese Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. (EPA)

An informed source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that Washington rejected a Sudanese request to separate between the issue of normalizing ties with Israel from a US decision on removing Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.

The US is pushing for a peace agreement between the two sides before the presidential elections in November, a Sudanese official source said.

The source expressed fears from losing the chance of removing Sudan from the terrorism sponsors list, which paralyzes the government performance and impedes the reintegration of the country into the international community.

“Sudanese officials should take a decision in this regard as quickly as possible since only two weeks separate us from the presidential election campaigns. After this period, the Republican candidate would not benefit from the normalization of ties,” the source added.

However, speeding up any peace agreement with Israel is still opposed by several members of the ruling coalition parties including the National Umma Party and the Communist Party.

Sudan's acting Foreign Affairs Minister Omar Qamareddine told France 24 channel on Friday that his country has discussed with Washington the issue of removing Khartoum from the list of sponsors of terrorism for several years and that talks concerning normalizing ties with Israel is separate from this issue.

The military component of the transitional sovereign council, headed by Abdel-Fattah Burhan, supports normalizing ties with Israel and considers in Sudan's benefit.

However, the civil component of the council believes that the Transitional Government does not possess any “authorization” to decide on the normalizing process.

Last week, Vice president of the sovereign council Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo said his country will continue to strive towards building relations with Israel.

Speaking to television channel Sudania24, Dagalo said establishing relations with Israel will fulfill a promise by the US to remove Sudan from its list of countries sponsoring terrorism.



Rescuers Say Israeli Strike Killed at Least 12 People in South Gaza 

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
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Rescuers Say Israeli Strike Killed at Least 12 People in South Gaza 

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on a tent sheltering displaced people at the Gaza seaport, in Gaza City, June 4, 2025. (Reuters)

The civil defense agency in Gaza said an Israeli strike on a tent housing displaced Palestinians near the southern city of Khan Younis on Wednesday killed at least 12 people.  

"At least 12 people were killed, including several children and women, in a strike by an Israeli drone this morning on a tent for displaced persons" near Khan Younis, the agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, adding that four more people had been killed in other strikes.  

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.  

Since a truce collapsed in March, Israel has intensified its operations to destroy Hamas, the Palestinian group whose October 7, 2023 attack triggered the war in Gaza. 

Hamas's unprecedented attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. 

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says at least 4,240 people have been killed in the territory since Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 54,510, mostly civilians.