Cairo

Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel, representing Bulgaria, reiterated the country's steadfast commitment to supporting Israel's right to defend itself against terrorist attacks. The announcement was made during her participation in an EU Council meeting held in Brussels.

Greece is very concerned about the current situation in Gaza and the increasing maritime insecurity in the Red Sea, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said on Wednesday in Cairo, after a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis is set to visit Egypt on Wednesday, where he will meet with his counterpart, Sameh Shoukry. Following discussions involving delegations from both countries, the two ministers will make statements to the press.

The Israel-Hamas war reached a grim milestone of 100 days on Sunday, with more civilian deaths in Gaza, and relatives of dozens of hostages still awaiting their freedom.

There were also casualties in the West Bank, and on the Israel-Lebanon border.

Israel bombarded the southern Gaza Strip Thursday as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Egypt on the final leg of regional talks aimed at preventing the Israel-Hamas war from spreading.

His arrival coincided with the start of a hearing at the U.N.'s top court over accusations Israel has committed "genocidal acts" in Gaza.

A high-ranking Israeli delegation has arrived in Cairo to negotiate the release of hostages held by Hamas, an Egyptian source confirmed to Al-Araby Al-Jadid newspaper. Indirect talks are back on track after the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri last week.

Crete will be US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's second of nine stops in his whirlwind trip, mainly to the Middle East, from Jan. 4-11.

Blinken will hold talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the latter's family hometown of Hania Saturday, having visited Istanbul Friday.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis voiced his growing concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and tension on the Lebanon-Israel border to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, during a phone conversation on Wednesday to congratulate him on his re-election.

About 150,000 Palestinians have been forced to leave areas in the central part of the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli forces' offensive against the refugee camps in this area continues. The number of victims of the conflict is growing, reports from the Palestinian side.

In the latest reshuffling of the pack in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Tripoli government in Libya has informed the United Nations of the Council of Ministers' decision, led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh, to declare a 12 nautical mile territorial waters zone and then, to declare a contiguous zone extending 24 nautical miles northward, as permitted by the United Nations Convention on