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Blinken to announce more funding for Sudan at UN on Thursday, official says

A nurse registers women with children waiting in the shade to receive medical care outside the Italian Paediatric Hospital in Port Sudan on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
A nurse registers women with children waiting in the shade to receive medical care outside the Italian Paediatric Hospital in Port Sudan on October 8, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 02 May 2025

Blinken to announce more funding for Sudan at UN on Thursday, official says

A nurse registers women with children waiting in the shade to receive medical care outside the Italian Paediatric Hospital.

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will announce at the United Nations on Thursday additional funding for humanitarian assistance to Sudan and efforts to support civil society in the country, where a conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.
Deputy US Representative to the United Nations Ned Price told reporters on Wednesday that Blinken will make a number of announcements when he chairs on Thursday a UN Security Council meeting on Sudan, which will focus on humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians.
The announcements will include additional funding for humanitarian assistance, and efforts to support civil society and, ultimately, the transition back to democracy, Price said.
“Sudan, unfortunately, has risked becoming a forgotten conflict,” Price said.
“So part of the reason the secretary ... opted to convene a signature event on this very topic is to make sure it remains in the spotlight,” Price said.
Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months, triggering a profound humanitarian crisis in which more than 12 million people have been driven from their homes and UN agencies have struggled to deliver relief.
The war erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF ahead of a planned transition to civilian rule.
US-mediated talks in Geneva this year failed to achieve progress toward a ceasefire as the army refused to attend, but did secure promises from the warring parties to improve aid access.
Price said the United States would continue to work with allies for improved humanitarian access in Sudan and ultimately a cessation of hostilities before the end of President Joe Biden’s term next month.
“We are going to leave nothing on the field in our efforts to work with allies, with partners, with the Sudanese stakeholders themselves, on the issues that matter most — humanitarian access, the provision of humanitarian assistance, ultimately, the process by which we can work to get to a cessation of hostilities, which is most urgently needed,” he said.


Turkish foreign minister to discuss Israel’s Gaza City plan in Egypt visit, source says

Turkish foreign minister to discuss Israel’s Gaza City plan in Egypt visit, source says
Updated 08 August 2025

Turkish foreign minister to discuss Israel’s Gaza City plan in Egypt visit, source says

Turkish foreign minister to discuss Israel’s Gaza City plan in Egypt visit, source says
  • Fidan will meet El-Sisi and other officials to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, including the Gaza ceasefire negotiations
  • Fidan will also discuss developments in Africa, including in Libya, Sudan and Somalia

ANKARA: Turkiye’s foreign minister will travel to Egypt on Saturday for talks with senior officials on Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City and on the humanitarian situation there, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said on Friday.

Israel’s political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, as it expands its military operations despite growing domestic and international criticism over the devastating almost two-year-old war.

NATO member Turkiye, which has said Israel’s assault on Gaza amounts to a genocide and halted all trade with it, condemned the plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “fundamentalist government,” and urged world powers and the United Nations Security Council to act to prevent its implementation.

During his visit to Cairo, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and other officials to discuss bilateral ties and regional issues, including the Gaza ceasefire negotiations — mediated by Egypt, Qatar and the United States — as well as Israel’s takeover plan, the source said.

Fidan will “evaluate joint efforts to end the genocide in Gaza and allow the unhindered access of humanitarian aid into Gaza, emphasize that the occupying Israel’s actions targeting a two-state solution and its latest steps toward the annexation of Gaza are the biggest obstacle to regional peace and stability,” the source said.

Ankara has praised Egypt, Qatar and the United States for their mediation efforts between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose attack in 2023 prompted Israel’s war on Gaza. It has rejected any Gaza takeover plans or attempts to displace Palestinians.

Fidan will also discuss developments in Africa, including in Libya, Sudan and Somalia, the person added.


Belgium summons Israeli ambassador over Gaza control plan

Belgium summons Israeli ambassador over Gaza control plan
Updated 08 August 2025

Belgium summons Israeli ambassador over Gaza control plan

Belgium summons Israeli ambassador over Gaza control plan
  • “The aim is clearly to express our total disapproval of this decision,” Prevot posted on X

BRUSSELS: Belgium said Friday that it was summoning the Israeli ambassador over Israel’s plans to “take military control” of the Palestinian territory of Gaza.


“The aim is clearly to express our total disapproval of this decision, but also of the continued colonization,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot posted on X.


Israel strike kills one in Lebanon: ministry

Israel strike kills one in Lebanon: ministry
Updated 8 min 6 sec ago

Israel strike kills one in Lebanon: ministry

Israel strike kills one in Lebanon: ministry
  • It comes a day after Israeli strikes killed seven people in the eastern Bekaa Valley, two of them members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
  • The man killed in Friday’s strike in Nabatiyeh district, Mohammad Shahadeh

BEIRUT: An Israeli strike killed one person in southern Lebanon on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said, in the latest attack despite a November ceasefire.

It comes a day after Israeli strikes killed seven people in the eastern Bekaa Valley, two of them members of leftist militant group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The man killed in Friday’s strike in Nabatiyeh district, Mohammad Shahadeh, ran a local news website and colleagues took to social media to offer their condolences to his family.

Social media users circulated an obituary released by Hezbollah, which described him as a “martyr on the road to Jerusalem,” the term the group uses for members killed in fighting with Israel.

The PFLP meanwhile mourned “commander and Central Committee member, Mohammad Khalil Wishah” and “field commander Mufid Hassan Hussein, who were martyred yesterday (Thursday) in a treacherous Zionist assassination crime on the road between Syria and Lebanon.”

The Israeli military confirmed the strike, saying Wishah had served in the PFLP’s “military-security department in Syria” since his predecessor was assassinated in an Israeli air strike in Beirut in September.

The military alleged that Wishah “recently operated to advance military operations against Israeli targets.”

Israel has repeatedly struck Lebanon despite last year’s truce and has threatened to continue its attacks until Hezbollah has been disarmed.

This week, the Lebanese government agreed an end of year target for the disarmament of the militant group and tasked the army with drawing up a plan by the end of August.


EU chief says Israel must reconsider Gaza control plan

EU chief says Israel must reconsider Gaza control plan
Updated 08 August 2025

EU chief says Israel must reconsider Gaza control plan

EU chief says Israel must reconsider Gaza control plan
  • She urged the release of all hostages and the “immediate and unhindered access” for aid

BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called on Israel on Friday to reconsider its plan to further extend the military’s control over the Palestinian territory of Gaza.

“The Israeli government’s decision to further extend its military operation in Gaza must be reconsidered,” she said on X.


She also urged the release of all hostages and the “immediate and unhindered access” for humanitarian aid in Gaza. “A ceasefire is needed now.”

 


Germany stops military exports that could be used in Gaza

Germany stops military exports that could be used in Gaza
Updated 08 August 2025

Germany stops military exports that could be used in Gaza

Germany stops military exports that could be used in Gaza
  • The move by Germany appears likely to further isolate Israel in the wake of the controversial military takeover plan
  • Chancellor Friedrich Merz calls on Israel to allow comprehensive access for aid deliveries

BERLIN: Germany will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced Friday, in a strikingly quick response by one of Israel’s strongest international backers to a decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet to take over Gaza City.

The move by Germany, which has previously stopped short of tougher lines against Israel’s government taken by some of its European Union allies, appeared likely to further isolate Israel in the wake of the controversial military takeover plan that has been decried by the United Nations and supporters of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.

In a statement, Merz emphasized that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror” and said that the release of Israeli hostages and purposeful negotiations toward a ceasefire in the 22-month conflict “are our top priority.”

He said Hamas must not have a role in the future of Gaza.

“The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli Cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved,” he added. “Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.”

The German government remains deeply concerned about the suffering of civilians in Gaza, he said, adding: “With the planned offensive, the Israeli government bears even greater responsibility than before for providing for their needs.”

He called on Israel to allow comprehensive access for aid deliveries – including for UN organizations and other NGOs – and said Israel “must continue to comprehensively and sustainably address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”

Germany also called on Israel’s government “not to take any further steps toward annexing the West Bank.”

It was not immediately clear which military equipment from Germany would be affected.

Germany, with its history with the Holocaust, has been among the strongest Western backers of Israel – no matter which government is in power. Merz’s government did not join announcements by President Emmanuel Macron of key German ally France and Britain’s Keir Starmer that they plan to formally recognize a Palestinian state in September.