Egypt and Syria Commit to Closer Ties as Foreign Minister Visits Cairo https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4248341/egypt-and-syria-commit-closer-ties-foreign-minister-visits-cairo
Egypt and Syria Commit to Closer Ties as Foreign Minister Visits Cairo
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) meets with his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mekdad at the ministry headquarters in Cairo, on April 1, 2023. (AFP)
Egypt and Syria Commit to Closer Ties as Foreign Minister Visits Cairo
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) meets with his Syrian counterpart Faisal al-Mekdad at the ministry headquarters in Cairo, on April 1, 2023. (AFP)
Egypt and Syria agreed to strengthen cooperation on Saturday during the first official visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Cairo in more than a decade.
Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mekdad was embraced by Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry as he arrived at Egypt's foreign ministry in the first official trip since before the uprising and conflict that began in Syria in 2011.
President Bashar al-Assad was shunned by many Western and Arab states due to the war in Syria, which splintered the country and left hundreds of thousands of people dead.
"The ministers agreed to intensify channels of communication between the two countries at different levels during the coming phase," a statement from Egypt's foreign ministry said.
Egypt also reiterated its backing for a "comprehensive political settlement to the Syrian crisis as soon as possible".
An Egyptian security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the visit was aimed at putting in place steps for Syria's return to the Arab League.
The Cairo-based Arab League suspended Syria's membership in 2011 and many Arab states pulled their envoys out of Damascus.
Some countries, including the United States, have opposed the rehabilitation of ties with Assad, citing his government's brutality during the conflict and the need to see progress towards a political solution in Syria.
Assad last month visited the United Arab Emirates, signaling increasing openness towards Damascus.
Egypt's Shoukry visited Syria and Türkiye in February after the devastating earthquakes there, and on Saturday reiterated a pledge of support for its victims.
Egypt's foreign ministry published pictures of Shoukry warmly greeting Mekdad at the foreign ministry on the banks of the Nile, as well as in one-on-one talks and leading a wider discussion.
Aoun to Rubio: Ceasefire Is Fundamental Pillar for Lebanese-US-Israeli Talks in Washington Next Weekhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5286165-aoun-rubio-ceasefire-fundamental-pillar-lebanese-us-israeli-talks-washington
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, June 19, 2026. (Reuters)
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Aoun to Rubio: Ceasefire Is Fundamental Pillar for Lebanese-US-Israeli Talks in Washington Next Week
Smoke billows from southern Lebanon following an Israeli strike, as seen from Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, June 19, 2026. (Reuters)
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun received on Friday a telephone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss the current situation in Lebanon and the region in light of the lates developments, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Rubio stressed that the United States stands with Lebanon and is working to achieve security and stability in the country, extend the authority of the state over all its territory, and support its legitimate, security, and military institutions, especially the army.
Aoun expressed his gratitude to Rubio for "his country's support for Lebanon," stressing "the need to stop the Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory by achieving a comprehensive ceasefire.”
Lebanon considers achieving a ceasefire a “fundamental pillar for the progress of the Lebanese-US-Israeli negotiations scheduled in Washington next week to reach the goals and principles from which these negotiations were launched to restore Lebanon's security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.”
Fighting flared anew in Lebanon on Friday, with authorities reporting 47 killed in Israeli airstrikes and Israel announcing the deaths of four of its soldiers.
The violence is the worst since the sealing of a US-Iran deal to halt the wider Middle East war, which was supposed to also pause fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Lebanese Villagers Return to Find Homes in Ruinshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5286117-lebanese-villagers-return-find-homes-ruins
Khadija Amara, whom local residents said had not left her home, fills a jerrycan with water as she sits among the rubble of a house, which was damaged by an Israeli strike, in Qlaileh in the Tyre district, southern Lebanon, June 19, 2026. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Khadija Amara, whom local residents said had not left her home, fills a jerrycan with water as she sits among the rubble of a house, which was damaged by an Israeli strike, in Qlaileh in the Tyre district, southern Lebanon, June 19, 2026. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
Abed Hachem rebuilt his home when it was damaged in a conflict between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militants in 2024, but is at a loss now that most of his village has been destroyed in Israel's latest round of strikes.
Where his house once stood in Qlaileh is now rubble; where his garden bloomed, dust, with more dust covering the toys and furniture strewn around the remains of his living room.
"Oh dear... Oh God. There was a building here... here... there was a building here," the 46-year-old father of three said as he pointed to the husks of buildings that once housed his neighbors, Reuters reported.
The spire of the local mosque is one of few structures still standing.
The latest round of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah fired at Israel in support of its ally Iran, drawing Lebanon into the regional war. Israel responded with air strikes and a ground invasion that occupied parts of southern Lebanon.
More than 3,900 people have been killed, and 1.2 million people have been displaced, with Israel's forced evacuation orders emptying entire villages in southern Lebanon.
Israel says its campaign was aimed at Hezbollah's forces and military infrastructure.
Now, as people like Hachem return to their homes and try to stitch their lives back together, they are reckoning with the heartbreak of seeing their communities wiped out.
"The whole village is destroyed. My house is destroyed. The village is destroyed. Where are we supposed to go now?" he said. "There is nothing left. A lifetime's work is all gone."
His neighbor, a man Hachem saw as a brother, and with whom he shared a cup of tea every morning, has been killed, along with his son.
"They have nothing to do with political parties, nothing to do with weapons, nothing to do with wars," he added, his frustration mounting. "The man was just trying to support his family, and he and his son died for nothing."
The interim deal announced between the United States and Iran brought a lull to the fighting in Lebanon earlier this week, allowing displaced people like Hachem to return home. Fighting flared again before a new ceasefire came into effect on Friday afternoon.
Hachem just wishes peace had come sooner.
"This agreement they reached, they should have made it from the very beginning," he said. "Not after people were destroyed."
Gaza Factions Consult on Response to Mladenov's Amendmenthttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5286109-gaza-factions-consult-response-mladenovs-amendment
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle, according to medics, in Gaza City, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Gaza Factions Consult on Response to Mladenov's Amendment
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle, according to medics, in Gaza City, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinian factions are reviewing amendments presented by Nickolay Mladenov, the High Representative for Gaza at the Board of Peace, to Hamas during a meeting with mediators in Cairo on Wednesday.
Asharq Al Awsat has learned from sources within Hamas and other Palestinian factions that consultations are underway both within individual factions and among the factions collectively.
A Hamas source and two Palestinian faction sources said that faction representatives will hold an extended meeting in Cairo to discuss Mladenov's response to the latest amendments that the factions submitted to mediators several days ago.
According to the Hamas source, Mladenov's amendments covered all provisions, not only the eighth clause concerning the restriction and storage of weapons. The source added that the term "infrastructure," which has been a point of disagreement both among the factions and in discussions with mediators, was also included.
The source said Hamas leaders are holding internal consultations, as well as discussions with relevant bodies, including the leadership of the movement's military wing, the Izz ad Din al Qassam Brigades, inside Gaza, regarding the proposed amendments. He added that specific wording will be agreed upon before being presented to the factions for review and comment, with the aim of reaching a unified national position to submit to the mediators.
The source also noted that a representative of the US administration, one of the aides to US envoy Jared Kushner, participated in the meeting between Mladenov and Hamas leaders held in Cairo on Wednesday in the presence of the mediators.
Two Palestinian faction sources said that internal consultations are taking place within each faction and that a comprehensive national meeting will be convened to formulate observations on Mladenov's amendments. They said the latest proposals will be examined and compared with the revisions made by the factions in their most recent response, with efforts focused on narrowing differences in wording to facilitate further progress following recent advances.
One of the remaining points of contention is the term "infrastructure" and how it should be defined. Some factions had advised Hamas to include the term within the eighth clause dealing with the restriction and storage of weapons. However, the movement's leadership considered the definition too broad and argued that consensus on its meaning must be reached before Mladenov incorporates it into his amendments in coordination with the mediators. As a result, the issue has become a central focus of consultations both within and among the factions.
Some faction leaders had advised Hamas that the definition of infrastructure should be limited to tunnels, weapons manufacturing workshops, and weapons storage facilities, without extending to additional elements such as personnel, military sites, vehicles, or other assets.
Palestinians sit overlooking a tent camp sheltering displaced people, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, June 18, 2026. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
These developments come amid continued Israeli military escalation on the ground. Early Friday, three Palestinians were wounded when an artillery shell landed near their tent in Khan Younis in southern Gaza. Two others were injured by gunfire from military vehicles and drones in areas near the Yellow Line.
On Friday morning, members of armed gangs in northern Gaza advanced the Yellow Line by approximately 200 meters westward from the Al Alami area of Jabalia camp, causing a new wave of displacement among families living nearby. The move aimed to expand the areas of Gaza under Israeli control, following similar steps taken by Israeli forces in several locations across the Strip in recent days.
Meanwhile, a number of Israeli military and engineering vehicles advanced east of Deir al Balah toward the south, west of the Yellow Line, carrying out demolition operations against homes in the area.
On Thursday, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in two airstrikes and through gunfire from military vehicles and drones in several areas of the Gaza Strip.
The number of Palestinian casualties since the ceasefire entered into force on October 10, 2025, has risen to more than 1,000 dead and over 3,000 wounded.
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