Egypt Pushes Towards Resuming GERD Negotiations

Nile fishermen protect stocks by pulling plastic from river. Reuters
Nile fishermen protect stocks by pulling plastic from river. Reuters
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Egypt Pushes Towards Resuming GERD Negotiations

Nile fishermen protect stocks by pulling plastic from river. Reuters
Nile fishermen protect stocks by pulling plastic from river. Reuters

Cairo has reiterated that it was willing to resume negotiations on the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) in order to reach a legally binding agreement.

It also slammed Ethiopian intransigence and unilateral act.

Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Aty said that Egypt was one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, with its resources estimated at about 60 billion cubic meters annually.

While most of this amount came from the Nile, there were also very limited amounts from rainwater and deep groundwater in deserts.

Egypt needs annually around 114 billion cubic meters of water, he pointed out.

He made his remarks at the high-level ministerial meeting organized by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety.

Aty said that Egypt supported development in the Nile Basin and African countries as it had established rainwater harvesting dams and underground drinking water stations.

He also stressed Egypt’s quest for a just and binding legal agreement, meeting the aspirations of all countries in development, warning that any action taken by Addis Ababa without such a deal and without coordination with the downstream countries - Egypt and Sudan - was an unwelcomed unilateral act.

Aty stressed his country’s persistence in preserving its water rights.

Ambassador Maged Abdel-Fattah, the Arab League representative to the UN, expected the Security Council to meet before July 10 to discuss the dispute on GERD.

“GERD is a project purely for the generation of electricity for economic development and has no other ill-intention meant to harm the downstream” countries, said Ethiopian Ambassador to South Sudan Nebil Mahdi.

He rejected the Security Council’s involvement, saying the “African-led negotiation process is the only platform for achieving the objective of a lasting solution over GERD.”



UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
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UN Calls for Independent Probe into Civilians Harmed Trying to Get Food in Gaza

 Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians carry bags filled with food and humanitarian aid provided by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US-backed organization approved by Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday slammed as "unacceptable" the deaths of Palestinians seeking food aid in Gaza, a spokesman said, calling the loss of life in the territory "unthinkable".

"The Secretary-General continues to call for an immediate and independent investigation into these events and for the perpetrators to be held to account," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

"We are witnessing unthinkable loss of life in Gaza (and) the secretary-general condemns the loss of lives and injuries of Palestinians seeking aid," he said. "It is unacceptable civilians are risking and in several instances losing their lives just trying to get food."

At least 27 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded by Israeli fire near a food distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, local health authorities said, in the third day of chaos and bloodshed to affect the aid operation.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that its field hospital in Rafah received 184 casualties, adding that 19 of those were declared dead upon arrival, and eight died of their wounds shortly after.

The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation launched its first distribution sites last week in an effort to alleviate widespread hunger amongst Gaza's war-battered population, most of whom have had to abandon their homes to flee fighting.

The Foundation's aid plan, which bypasses traditional aid groups, has come under fierce criticism from the United Nations and established charities which say it does not follow humanitarian principles.

The private group, which is endorsed by Israel, said it distributed 21 truckloads of food early on Tuesday and that the aid operation was "conducted safely and without incident within the site".

However, there have been reports of repeated killings near Rafah as crowds gather to get desperately needed supplies.

On Sunday, Palestinian and international officials reported that at least 31 people were killed and dozens more injured. On Monday, three more Palestinians were reportedly killed by Israeli fire.

The Israeli military has denied targeting civilians gathering for aid and called reports of deaths during Sunday’s distribution "fabrications" by Hamas.