Month: January 2024
BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi agreed in a phone call the importance of allowing humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, a German government spokesperson said on Monday.
“The chancellor and the president agreed that in the conflict between Israel and Hamas there is an urgent need to significantly improve access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and the provision of supplies to the Palestinians,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
DOHA: Hamas said on Monday that releasing hostages it is holding would require a guaranteed end to the Israeli offensive in Gaza and withdrawal of all invasion forces, reiterating its position after Israel held a meeting with Qatari and Egyptian mediators.
“The success of the Paris meeting is dependent on the Occupation (Israel) agreeing to end the comprehensive aggression on Gaza Strip,” senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.
RIYADH: Qatar reported a positive foreign merchandise trade balance for December 2023, with a surplus of nearly 18.7 billion Qatari riyals ($5.13 billion).
Recent data from the Planning and Statistics Authority revealed that the overall surplus represented a decrease of about 9.5 billion riyals, or a 33.7 percent drop, compared to the corresponding period in 2022.
It was, however, an increase of nearly 2 billion riyals, or 12 percent, compared to the previous month – November 2023.