A latest report by IIF highlights three possible outcomes from Gaza operations, each with profound implications for MENA economies and political stability.

"By doing so the European Union will spend a total of 100 million euros in humanitarian aid for the civilians in Gaza," EU chief von der Leyen told EU diplomats in Brussels. Von der Leyen said flows of aid into Gaza from Egypt "remain too small" and the EU was...

AL-KHOBAR, SAUDI ARABIA - The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) is scheduled to host the first Gulf-Egyptian Business Forum on November 22-23. Held under the theme "Business - Investment - Partnership," the event is organized by the Federation of Gulf Cooperation Council (FGCC) chambers in cooperation with FEDCOC,...

AMMAN, JORDAN  – Foreign ministers from key Arab nations – including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, and representatives from the Palestinian Authority – met here to discuss strategies for ending the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The meeting, held on Saturday, was aimed at coordinating efforts to halt...

"No foreign passport holder will be able to leave the Gaza Strip until wounded people who need to be evacuated from hospitals in north Gaza are transported through the Rafah crossing" to Egypt, the official said on condition of anonymity. Israel launched a war against Hamas in Gaza following the...

For the first time after weeks of deadly fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants since the Hamas attacks of October 7, the Rafah border crossing opened on Wednesday to let people out of Gaza. In a meeting with foreign diplomats, assistant foreign minister Ismail Khairat said Egypt was preparing "to...

The Hamas government in Gaza said that 195 people had been killed in Israeli strikes this week on Jabalia refugee camp. Meanwhile hundreds more wounded and foreign passport holders hoped to escape the war-torn Gaza Strip as Israeli forces bombed and fought intense ground battles with Hamas.

Chevron's Tamar gas field halt, rising global oil prices, and jeopardized gas supplies to Egypt and Jordan underscore the impact of geopolitics on energy security.

The border opening with Egypt provided the first glimmer of hope in the flaring humanitarian crisis in Gaza which the UN and other aid agencies have described as "unprecedented". Israel has pounded Gaza for more than three weeks in retribution for the worst attack in the country's history, when Hamas...

Abu Dhabi, UAE - Setting up a "loss and damage" fund for poorer nations hit by climate change dominated preliminary talks on Tuesday, one month before COP28 in Dubai where delegates look set to tussle over the future of fossil fuels. Around 70 ministers have gathered since Monday at the Emirates...

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said Monday his government was working hard to get Thai citizens home. About 30,000 Thais were working in Israel, many in the agricultural sector, when the conflict erupted. At least 32 Thais have been killed in the conflict and 19 wounded.

"Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva Conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction," chief prosecutor OF ICC Karim Khan told reporters in Cairo. He was speaking after a visit to Egypt's Rafah crossing, where he said trucks full of desperately needed goods remained stuck and unable...

Dubai, UAE--A top Hamas official called on Egypt Sunday to take "decisive" action to expedite aid to Gaza amid criticism over the pace of vital supplies reaching the war-torn Palestinian territory. "Egypt should not remain a spectator," Hamas politburo member Musa Abu Marzouk said in a statement. "We expect a...

Hamas released a list of around 7,000 names of people in Gaza it said had been killed in Israeli strikes. The list was produced a day after US President Joe Biden said he had "no confidence" in the militant group's death toll figures. Israel says 1,400 people were killed in...

Erected at the entrance to the ancient city of Khorsabad, the sculpture shows the Lamassu, an Assyrian deity with a human head, the body of a bull and the wings of a bird.

United Nations, - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday alleged violations of international law as Israel pounds Gaza, and urged an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to bring in relief. "I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear:...

"That's how the Nakba started," says the Gaza-based rights group Al Mezan, reflecting regional suspicions that Israel is planning to empty the coastal territory. The Nakba, or "catastrophe", is how the Arab world refers to the exodus or forced displacement of 760,000 Palestinians in the war that led to the...

There have also been increasing cross-border exchanges of fire along Israel's northern border with Lebanon, between Israeli troops and Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas.

Describing the entry of a few dozens trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt as "not enough", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that it was important to send in the basic things that make water and electricity supply being restored. He made the comments ahead of a...

New Delhi, India--India on Sunday flew 38.5 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Egypt's Sinai region for Palestinian civilians from the embattled Gaza Strip, the foreign ministry said. An Indian air force Boeing C-17 transport plane "carrying nearly 6.5 tonnes of medical aid and 32 tonnes of disaster relief material for...

Saturday's was the first such delivery since the war broke out two weeks ago between Israel and Hamas, which rules the Palestinian enclave of 2.4 million people. President Joe Biden said in a statement that the opening of "this essential supply route was the result of days of diplomatic engagement...

Washington, US - The United States on Saturday welcomed the arrival of aid trucks from Egypt in the war-torn Gaza Strip, and urged all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged "all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open to enable the continued movement...

The first aid trucks arrived in the war-torn Gaza Strip from Egypt, AFP journalists said, bringing desperately needed humanitarian relief to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave under Israeli siege. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the group carried out the deadliest attack in the country's history on October 7.

Israel urged its citizens to immediately leave Egypt and Jordan, the national security council said on Saturday as regional tensions flared over the war in Gaza. "Israel's National Security Council raises its travel warnings for Egypt (including Sinai) and Jordan to level 4 (high threat): recommendation not to travel to...

"We are in deep and advanced negotiations with all relevant sides to ensure that an aid operation in Gaza starts as quickly as possible... a first delivery is due to start in the next day or so," the UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said, quoted by his spokesman Jens Laerke...

CAIRO, EGYPT – Tens of thousands of protesters rallied across Egypt in support of war-torn Gaza on Friday, with large crowds flooding into Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, an AFP correspondent and Egyptian media said. The correspondent said several thousand packed into Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising that toppled...

SHARJAH/ ABU DHABI, UAE -  Air Arabia announced the launch of a new route operating between Sharjah and Giza city in Egypt. The non-stop flights will connect Sharjah International Airport with Sphinx International Airport with a frequency of five weekly flights starting from  December 6, 2023. Group Chief Executive Officer,...

The UN has described the situation inside Gaza as "beyond catastrophic" as Israel pounds the enclave from the air in reprisal for a Hamas attack that was the bloodiest in its 75-year history. More than 3,700 Palestinians, mainly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in relentless Israeli bombardments...

"Egypt needs support, so let's support Egypt," said Michel, who is in Washington to attend a summit with US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday. He added that he would meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his weekend visit.

Xi met Egypt's Mostafa Madbouli in Beijing on Thursday, repeating China's support for a "two-state solution... to realise the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel", according to multiple state media outlets. "China is willing to enhance cooperation with Egypt... and inject more certainty and stability into the region and the...

Despite global economic challenges, the region showcased resilience in the first half of 2023, backed by a robust performance in the construction sector.

"In light of (US) President (Joe) Biden's demand, Israel would not foil the supply of humanitarian aid via Egypt," the prime minister's office said, announcing a cabinet decision. The statement noted that aid to civilians in the southern Gaza Strip would be allowed "so long as these supplies do not...

Markets had enjoyed a healthy run Tuesday on optimism that while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing for a ground offensive in the blockaded territory, the crisis could be contained.

Amman, Jordan - Jordan and Egypt have signed an MoU to foster cooperation in economic and development policy formulation, as well as the valuable exchange of planning expertise. The MoU emphasizes the importance of coordination and the development of bilateral relations in technical cooperation between planning institutions in the two...

Cairo, Egypt--Egypt has issued the first sustainable Panda bonds in the Middle East and North Africa worth $500 million with a yield of 3.5% over three years, according to a statement by the Ministry of Finance. The recent bond issuance is guaranteed by international banks including the Asian Infrastructure Investment...

If aid is not allowed into the besieged territory, doctors will have to "prepare death certificates for their patients," WHO regional director for the eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed al-Mandhari told AFP. Monday marked 10 days of relentless Israeli air strikes on targets in the Palestinian enclave, in retaliation for an October...

As Israel prepares for a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, the international community has mobilized to try to protect civilians and prevent the conflict spreading across the region. But Tel Aviv's avowed determination to crush Hamas, the group behind the October 7 attack on Israel, are hampering mediation efforts.

As Israeli politicians look to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip into neighbouring Egypt, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has categorically rejected the idea, saying they should be able to stay as Israel battles Hamas. Blinken is on a crisis tour of the Middle East after Hamas fighters attacked...

Israel's strikes on the Gaza Strip have led to an "unprecedented human catastrophe" in the Palestinian territory, the United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees said. "Not one drop of water, not one grain of wheat, not a liter of fuel has been allowed in the Gaza Strip for the last...

ISMAILIA, EGYPT - Convoys of humanitarian aid stacked up near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday, unable to enter the Palestinian enclave being bombarded by Israel, witnesses told AFP. The Rafah crossing -- the only passage in and out of the Gaza Strip not controlled by Israel -- has...

Jerusalem - International aid groups and major powers have pleaded with Israel to set up safe zones in Gaza where thousands struggled on Saturday to get out of the north of the Palestinian territory, under threat of attack. With thousands of Israeli troops massed around Gaza's borders, uncertainty over when...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Egypt and Israel have agreed to let US citizens leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing on Saturday as Israel carries out strikes against Hamas, a US official said. The two US partners agreed to keep the sole crossing from Gaza to Egypt open from 12:00...

Geneva, Switzerland - The World Health Organization said on Saturday enough basic health supplies to serve 300,000 people in the Gaza Strip have been flown to an Egyptian airport near the Palestinian enclave. The supplies were ready to go in once humanitarian access could be established through the Rafah crossing from...

"Our Palestinian people reject the threat of the occupation (Israeli) leaders and its call for them to leave their homes and flee from them to the south or Egypt," the group said in a statement.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza is the only passage in and out of the coastal enclave not controlled by Israel. Israel has bombarded the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since Saturday in reprisal for a shock Hamas attack on Israel that has killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and looks...

Cairo, Egypt -  The Egyptian market is projected to reach an impressive $16.34 billion in non-cash transactions in 2023, while as global non-cash transaction volumes are set to hit a staggering 1.3 trillion in the year, reveals  the Capgemini Research Institute's 2023 World Payments Report. As consumers and businesses eagerly...

Qatar, where Blinken will head immediately after Jordan, has longstanding ties with Hamas and has been seen as an intermediary in freeing the hostages. "We'll continue pressing countries to help prevent the conflict from spreading, and to use their leverage with Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages," Blinken...

Cairo, Egypt- The first shipment of humanitarian aid arrived in Egypt's Sinai on Thursday from Jordan, state-affiliated media reported, to be transported into Gaza, which Israel has been bombarding for days following a surprise Hamas attack. Israel's army has hammered Hamas with thousands of strikes ahead of what is widely expected...

Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira has interrupted an Asia trip to travel "to New York to participate in a meeting of the United Nations Security Council, called by Brazil... to address the situation in the Gaza Strip," the ministry said in a statement.

Dubai, UAE -- Despite global economic uncertainties, the construction industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) awarded a staggering $101 billion worth of projects in the first half of 2023, a report by JLL's Construction Market Intelligence said, based on insights gathered from industry experts and sources. The...