CAIRO: Two Hamas officials on Wednesday accused Israel of delaying the delivery of vital humanitarian aid to Gaza, as agreed in the ceasefire deal, and warned that it could impact the release of hostages.
"We warn that continued delays and failure to address these points (delivery of key aid) will affect the natural progression of the agreement, including the prisoner exchange," a senior Hamas official told AFP, while another offical said the group had asked mediators to intervene in the issue. Both spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Hamas officials say Israel delaying aid delivery to Gaza, may affect hostages' release
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Hamas officials say Israel delaying aid delivery to Gaza, may affect hostages' release
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Saudi crown prince receives phone call from French President Macron
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- During the call, areas of joint cooperation and regional and international developments were discussed
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received a phone call from French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday, Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the call, areas of joint cooperation and ways to enhance them were reviewed, and regional and international developments were discussed.
The two officials also exchanged views on the latest developments and efforts made toward them to achieve security and stability.
Salah scores, Diaz ends goal drought as Liverpool move seven points clear
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- While Diaz has struggled to find the net, Salah is in red-hot form
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as Luis Diaz ended his goal drought to spark a tense 2-1 win against struggling Wolves on Sunday.
Arne Slot’s side got back on track after an unexpectedly poor week thanks to Diaz’s first goal in 2025 and yet another Mohamed Salah strike.
Diaz opened the scoring early in the first half at Anfield as the Colombian forward finally scored for the 13th time this term after 10 games without a goal.
While Diaz has struggled to find the net, Salah is in red-hot form and his penalty before the interval took the Egypt star to 28 goals in all competitions this season.
Matheus Cunha netted in the second half for fourth-bottom Wolves, but although Liverpool looked tired in a disjointed, nervous, climax, they held on for a valuable victory.
Liverpool had gone two games without a win: an embarrassing FA Cup fourth round loss at second tier Plymouth last weekend and the stormy 2-2 draw at Everton on Wednesday.
Arsenal’s 2-0 win at Leicester on Saturday had applied a little more pressure on Liverpool.
The Reds responded to Arsenal’s challenge as they moved a step closer to a record-equalling 20th English title.
Liverpool, who last won the Premier League in 2020, will be within touching distance of the crown if they take maximum points from trips to Aston Villa and Manchester City before hosting Newcastle over the course of the next 10 days.
Liverpool boss Slot was in the dug-out despite being charged with abusive behavior after angrily approaching referee Michael Oliver on the pitch following the Merseyside derby.
Slot was furious that James Tarkowski’s stoppage-time equalizer was not disallowed because of a possible push by Toffees striker Beto on Reds defender Ibrahima Konate.
Slot had urged Liverpool to use their “anger” from the painful end to the Everton game as fuel to get back on track against Wolves.
They didn’t have to wait long to light the fuse as Diaz bagged his first league goal at Anfield since September.
In the 15th minute, Diaz picked out Salah and his return pass took a wicked deflection off Toti Gomes.
Diaz stumbled forward to chest the ball past Wolves keeper Jose Sa as it barely trickled over the line.
It was hardly a work of art but Diaz wasn’t complaining about the scruffy nature of the strike.
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai nearly netted with a more eye-catching effort, striding forward with purpose before drilling a low shot just wide.
The Reds were rampant and Sa repelled Jota’s drive at the near post after Robertson’s cross caused panic in the Wolves defense.
Wolves couldn’t stem the tide as Liverpool went further ahead in the 37th minute.
Wolves claimed Emmanuel Agbadou was pushed by Diaz before he raced into the area and was tripped by Sa.
But VAR ignored their protests and Salah flicked the penalty down the middle with a flamboyant flourish.
Salah has seven goals in his last six games, underlining his immense value to Liverpool as his contract winds toward its conclusion at the end of the season.
Wolves debutant Marshall Munetsi wasted a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit early in the second half.
Munetsi was sent clean through by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, but Alisson Becker raced off his line to make a fine save.
Jota appeared to have won a penalty when Agbadou’s challenge sent him sprawling, but VAR overturned the decision as replays showed he had dived.
Liverpool had lost their momentum and Cunha took advantage, evading Ryan Gravenberch and curling a superb finish into the far corner in the 67th minute.
That set up a fraught finale for Liverpool, who had to dig deep to secure a fourth win in their last five league games.
US Mideast envoy says phase two Gaza talks to continue this week
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NEW YORK: US Middle envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that talks on phase two of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas would continue this week “at a location to be determined” to figure out how to reach a successful conclusion.
He told Fox News that he had “very productive and constructive” calls on Sunday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani and Egypt’s director of intelligence.
Witkoff said they spoke about “the sequencing of phase two, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand ... where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of phase two successfully.”
Tunisian president discusses security cooperation with Saudi interior minister
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- Discussions focused on strengthening security ties between Tunisia and the Kingdom
TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied met with Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz at the Carthage Presidential Palace on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations and security cooperation between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the meeting, Prince Abdulaziz conveyed the greetings of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Saied, along with their wishes for Tunisia’s continued progress and prosperity.
The discussions focused on strengthening security ties between Tunisia and the Kingdom, with high-level officials from both countries in attendance, including the Saudi ambassador to Tunisia Abdulaziz bin Ali Al-Saqr. Representing Tunisia was Interior Minister Khaled Al-Nouri alongside senior officials.
The visit coincided with the 42nd session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, where Prince Abdulaziz, in his capacity as honorary president of the council, joined other Arab interior ministers in discussing regional security strategies.
President Saied commended the council’s efforts in fostering security integration across Arab nations and expressed his hopes that the ministerial meeting would yield results aligning with the aspirations of Arab leaders and their citizens, SPA reported.
OPEC Fund in talks with Lebanon to launch key economic support initiative
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RIYADH: The OPEC Fund for International Development is currently in talks with Lebanese authorities for a significant intervention, the institution’s president announced.
In an interview with Arab News on the opening day of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies, Abdulhamid Al-Khalifa shared that the fund is working with Lebanon to determine the optimal timing and approach to ensure the greatest impact on the country’s development.
This initiative is in line with the OPEC Fund’s ongoing commitment to global development, having already invested around $27 billion in projects across more than 125 countries. It also aligns with the fund’s mission to foster development, strengthen communities, and empower individuals.
“As you know, OPEC Fund is, as I said, a development institution and those institutions are created to take additional risks when it comes to development and they are what they call it counter-cyclical, when a country faces major issues, these institutions, intervene with high risk, but their objective is maximizing development impact, not maximizing returns on their assets,” Al-Khalifa said.
The president further emphasized that such institutions are not political in nature; instead, their focus is solely on driving development.
Al-Khalifa explained that the OPEC Fund has both a public sector arm and a private sector arm.
He added that the fund was already involved in investment projects in Lebanon through both arms and windows.
However, he noted that the approach depended on the circumstances and the right timing for intervention.
He mentioned that the fund was working with the authorities in Lebanon and looked forward to carrying out the intervention in the near future.
During the interview, the president also highlighted that while the region as a whole has significant potential, it also faces major risks, including geopolitical ones.
Al-Khalifa mentioned that some countries in the region were emerging from such risks, and expressed hope that this would help the region move forward. He added that the future held great potential and significant economic prospects for the region, particularly for the countries emerging from conflicts.
He added: “But also, you have countries that are stable and they are also doing well when it comes to economic development like GCC countries and also some Middle Eastern and North African countries.”
Al-Khalifa expressed his optimism about the future of the region but said: “It depends on many circumstances and depends on many risks that has to be mitigated.”
The president also highlighted that the OPEC Fund was established 50 years ago, with Saudi Arabia being one of the most important establishing members.
Al-Khalifa stated that the fund was focusing its efforts on development in both middle-income and low-income countries. He noted that Saudi Arabia, as the fund’s major shareholder, was supporting these countries through the OPEC Fund platform, which was one of the platforms Saudi Arabia uses to promote global development.
“As you know, Saudi Arabia is one of the major donors around the world when we compare it to GDP and they are processing their assistance through their bilateral institutions, but also they are using multilateral platforms like the World Bank, OPEC Fund, Islamic Development Bank and other regional banks,” he added.