CAIRO: Israel said it had received from the Red Cross on Tuesday the remains of a deceased hostage who had been held by Palestinian militants in Gaza, with the bodies of two still to be located more than six weeks into a fragile ceasefire.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not name the deceased former hostage, saying the remains would be handed over to the National Center of Forensic Medicine for identification.
Under the October deal between Hamas and Israel after two years of devastating war, Hamas freed all 20 surviving hostages held in Gaza in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and wartime detainees held by Israel.
The pact also stipulated the return of the remains of 28 hostages in exchange for the remains of 360 Palestinian militants.
Meanwhile, Egyptian state-affiliated Al-Qahera News TV said on Tuesday that the Cairo government had hosted a follow-up meeting for mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire deal.
It was attended by Egypt’s head of intelligence, the Qatari prime minister and the head of Turkish intelligence, the channel said, without mentioning when the gathering was held.
They discussed joint efforts to implement the second phase of US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for post-war Gaza and overcome challenges including ceasefire violations to ensure its consolidation, Al-Qahera reported.
A Hamas delegation, led by its exiled chief Khalil Al-Hayya, held talks with Egyptian officials in Cairo over the past two days to explore how to carry out the next steps in Trump’s plan, which would include a transitional governing authority for Gaza and a multinational security force.
Since the ceasefire took effect on October 10, Israel and Hamas have traded blame for deadly truce violations and accused each other of pushing back against later steps required by Trump’s plan.
Israel receives remains of hostage held in Gaza as Cairo hosts follow-up talks
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Israel receives remains of hostage held in Gaza as Cairo hosts follow-up talks
- Al-Qahera News TV said on Tuesday that the Cairo government had hosted a follow-up meeting for mediators and guarantors of the ceasefire deal
Morocco to secure 60% of water needs from desalination
- Rabat boosts investment in facilities powered by renewable energy, minister tells Marrakech conference
MARRAKECH: Morocco, which has endured seven years of drought, plans to supply 60 percent of its drinking water from treated seawater by 2030, up from 25 percent, its water minister said, as Rabat accelerates investment in desalination plants powered by renewable energy.
The push is crucial to ensure a steady water supply and to maintain Morocco’s status as a key producer and exporter of fresh produce amid climate change, as droughts have dried up some of its main water reservoirs and depleted underground resources.
FASTFACT
The plant will have a capacity of 350 million cubic meters and will supply urban centers in Morocco’s food basket as well as farmlands.
The North African country plans to produce 1.7 billion cubic meters of desalinated water annually by 2030 from projects under construction and plants for which it will hold tenders starting next year, Nizar Baraka said on the sidelines of the World Water Congress in Marrakech.
The largest plant — with planned investment of about 10 billion dirhams ($1 billion) — will be located near Tiznit, 615 km south of the capital Rabat.
It will have a capacity of 350 million cubic meters and will supply urban centers in the country’s food basket as well as farmlands, he said.
“Studies are underway as part of preparations for the plant’s tender, to be announced by mid next year,” Baraka said.
Besides the northern cities of Nador and Tangier, plants are also planned in Rabat in partnership with the French group Veolia, as well as in Tantan, where the government is considering building a port dedicated to green hydrogen and ammonia exports, Baraka said.
Morocco currently operates 17 desalination plants producing 345 million cubic meters annually.
Four additional plants are under construction with a combined capacity of 540 million cubic meters, scheduled to be ready by 2027, including a major facility in Casablanca, the country’s most populous city.
“All new desalination plants will be powered by renewable energy,” Baraka said.
Morocco has also faced rising temperatures and worsening evaporation in dams.
To counter this, it installed floating solar panels on a dam near Tangier to reduce evaporation, which accounts for 30 percent of the country’s surface water loss, according to the minister.
“The experiment will be expanded to include dams in the south and mountainous regions,” Baraka said.
