Information Ministry mourns death of prominent Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal

Damascus – Information Ministry expressed its sincere condolences on the death of Egypt’s most prominent journalist and political commentator Mohamed Hassanein Heikal who passed away on Wednesday at age 93.

In a statement, the Information Ministry voiced condolences to the brotherly Egyptian people and to the family of the late journalist, saying his death is “a big loss to the whole Arab media,” SANA reported.

Heikal was a close associate of President Gamal Abdel Nasser and a champion of pan-Arab nationalism. He contributed a great deal to documenting Egypt’s modern history.

He also documented the period of the rise of the Arab nationalist project and the events of October Liberation War against the Israeli occupation.

Heikal’s health deteriorated in recent weeks after suffering a critical health crisis.

In his last interview with the Egyptian CBC TV channel almost a month ago, Heikel said Egypt did Syria wrong having abandoned it and left it to face challenges alone instead of supporting it.

He also said the Levant, with Syria at its heart, is under great risk due to Israel’s greedy ambitions.