Amman, Jan 15: Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi emphasised the alignment of positions between Jordan and Denmark in supporting efforts to reach an agreement that would lead to a halt in the “aggression on Gaza.”

He made the remarks on Tuesday in a joint press conference in Amman following a meeting with the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, according to a statement by the ministry.

Current efforts should lead to an agreement that provides all needed to address the humanitarian disaster caused by the conflict, sending sufficient, practical, rapid, and immediate aid to Gaza, Safadi said.

The minister also emphasised the importance of ensuring the Palestinians’ right to an independent state with sovereignty over the 1967 borders, including East Jerusalem as its capital, based on the two-state solution, he said.

The two ministers’ talks also covered the situation in Syria and witnessed a consensus between the two sides on the necessity of supporting a comprehensive transitional process in Syria that leads to the rebuilding of a free, sovereign, and independent Syria where all Syrians can live in security, stability, and enjoy their full rights.

Safadi emphasised that the threat posed by the Islamic State remains ongoing and that Jordan is coordinating and collaborating with the new Syrian administration to address the danger.

For his part, the Danish minister praised the deep, strong relations between Denmark and Jordan, expressing hope to coordinate with Jordan on regional issues.

“Jordan has been and remains a stable partner and a bastion of stability in the region,” Rasmussen said, voicing support for Syria in its transitional process.

Rasmussen highlighted Denmark’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza, expressing hope for a sustainable, immediate agreement that would facilitate increased access to humanitarian aid for the strip.

He stressed that the two-state solution is the only solution and the only path to sustainable peace in the region.

Ankara, Jan 14: Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin held talks with Hamas’ political bureau officials regarding ongoing efforts for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

Kalin held phone talks with Hamas representatives, reviewing the progress and current status of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire negotiations.

Both parties reportedly agreed on the importance of continuing diplomatic efforts to achieve a ceasefire.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel in Qatar’s Doha have made progress toward a ceasefire agreement, Palestinian and Israeli officials confirmed on Monday.

Hamas delivered a “positive” response to a draft of the Gaza ceasefire agreement offered by mediators in the Qatari capital Doha, a senior Hamas official said.

An official familiar with the negotiation process in Doha, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “Hamas did not express any objection to the draft, hoping that a ceasefire will be reached as soon as possible to end the suffering of the Palestinian people in the coastal enclave.”

“Currently, we are waiting for the final Israeli response,” he added.

Earlier on Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar confirmed that “progress” had been made in the talks held in Qatar, and Israel “is working hard to reach a deal.”

Indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas resumed in Qatar on January 3, according to Hamas, days after Egypt hosted delegations from the movement and Israel with the aim of reaching a truce agreement in Gaza.

Over the past months, the efforts by mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the US have failed to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas since the first truce, which lasted a week between November and December 2023.

Hamas militants stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others as hostages. Of these, 98 remain in captivity in Gaza, with at least a third believed to have died.

Israel’s military campaign in response has caused widespread devastation in Gaza. Hamas-run health authorities reported on Monday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 46,584 people in Gaza.

United Nations, Jan 14: The United Nations and aid partners are responding to deadly Tropical Cyclone Dikeledi battering southeast Africa with high winds and heavy rain, UN humanitarians said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the UN partners began working with local authorities after the cyclone made landfall on Saturday in northern Madagascar, the same area hit by deadly Cyclone Chido nearly a month ago.

OCHA’s latest ReliefWeb status alert reported that Dikeledi’s center was over the Mozambique Channel, approximately 75 km east of the coast of Nampula province in northeastern Mozambique. It passed just south of Mayotte, the island where Cyclone Chido inflicted heavy death and destruction.

The government of Madagascar reported that three people were killed and more than 350 displaced to several temporary sites. More than 5,200 people were directly affected, nearly 1,300 homes flooded, and five health centers were damaged.

Humanitarian partners distributed water treatment supplies and water, sanitation and hygiene kits.

OCHA said the world body and humanitarian partners in Mozambique continue to assist those affected by Chido, which killed more than 170 people in Madagascar, Mayotte and Malawi.

The World Food Programme reported reaching more than 190,000 Cyclone Chido victims in five districts with one-week food rations as of Saturday. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and its partners distributed more than 800 kits of core relief items to more than 4,000 people.

UNHCR also said it stepped up efforts to assess protection concerns in parts of Cabo Delgado province where displaced people are sheltering. Following Cyclone Chido, they lacked shelter or sufficient access to clean water and sanitation facilities.

The loss of livelihoods, particularly in agriculture, has compounded their challenges in rebuilding their lives.

The United Nations and its partners aim to provide humanitarian assistance to more than 400,000 people affected by Cyclone Chido. But to do that, they urgently need additional funding, OCHA said.