Hamas officials say Israel delaying aid delivery to Gaza, may affect hostages' release

KHARTOUM: Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said Wednesday its fighters seized a strategic zone on the border with Egypt and Libya, as the regular army announced its withdrawal from the area.
The announcements came a day after the army accused forces loyal to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar of launching a cross-border attack alongside the RSF, the first allegation of direct Libyan involvement in the Sudanese war.
“As part of its defensive arrangements to repel aggression, our forces today evacuated the triangle area overlooking the borders between Sudan, Egypt and Libya,” army spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a statement.
Since April 2023, the war in Sudan has pitted army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against his erstwhile ally Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the RSF.
In a statement on Wednesday, the RSF said its fighters had “liberated the strategic triangle area,” adding that army forces had retreated southward “after suffering heavy losses.”
The army said on Tuesday that Haftar’s troops in coordination with the RSF attacked its border positions in a move it called “a blatant aggression against Sudan.”
The war has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army holding the center, east and north, while the paramilitaries and their allies control nearly all of Darfur and parts of the south.
The fighting has killed tens of thousands and displaced 13 million, including four million who fled abroad, triggering what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Efforts by international mediators to halt the fighting have so far failed, with violence continuing to escalate across the western Darfur region and the Kordofan region in the country’s south.

RIYADH: Aqeel Al-Ghamdi, assistant supervisor general for planning and development at the Saudi aid agency KSrelief and Saudi Arabia’s representative in the Donor Support Group for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, participated in a high-level meeting in Jersey, UK.

The meeting was organized by the UN Pooled Fund Working Group and attended by senior representatives from donor countries and international humanitarian organizations.

In his speech, Al-Ghamdi emphasized the need to strengthen joint action and coordination among donor countries and UN institutions to ensure equitable and effective aid access, especially for the most vulnerable.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the meeting was a key milestone in global efforts to improve financing mechanisms and responses to humanitarian needs.

Al-Ghamdi reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment, under the leadership of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to continue supporting global humanitarian efforts, helping to protect lives and improve living conditions in affected communities.

He noted that the Kingdom is among the world’s largest humanitarian donors and has led significant initiatives through KSrelief in recent years. These efforts have reached more than 100 countries and were implemented in partnership with UN agencies and international organizations.

At the meeting’s conclusion, participants praised Saudi Arabia’s pivotal role in humanitarian support and stressed the need to sustain international momentum for effective and lasting impact.

Since its launch in May 2015, KSrelief has implemented 3,438 projects worth more than $7.9 billion in 107 countries, in collaboration with at least 318 organizations.

These programs cover food security, early recovery, water, sanitation and hygiene, health, camp coordination, education, protection, emergency aid, logistics, telecommunications, and nutrition.