Lebanon’s Mikati Denies Discussing Issue of Hannibal Gaddafi with Dbeibeh

Dbeibeh meeting with the wounded Libyans in Italy (The Government of National Unity)
Dbeibeh meeting with the wounded Libyans in Italy (The Government of National Unity)
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Lebanon’s Mikati Denies Discussing Issue of Hannibal Gaddafi with Dbeibeh

Dbeibeh meeting with the wounded Libyans in Italy (The Government of National Unity)
Dbeibeh meeting with the wounded Libyans in Italy (The Government of National Unity)

The Libyan interim Prime Minister, Abdul Hamid al-Dbeibeh, ignored an official denial issued by Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati regarding a recent contact between them to follow up on the developments of the Hannibal case.

Hannibal, the son of the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has been detained for years in Lebanon.

In a statement issued by his media office, Mikati said he received no contact from any Libyan side pertaining to the case.

"The file of Gaddafi's son is in the hands of a competent judiciary, and any follow-up to this file takes place through competent judicial methods," said Mikati.

However, the Lebanese PM expressed Lebanon's keenness on what he described as "the best relations with the Libyan people."

Dbeibeh had earlier said that telephone contacts were held with Mikati to discuss Hannibal Gaddafi’s case and that an “official Libyan committee is set to travel to Lebanon to follow up on the matter.”

Separately, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed in a statement Libya's agreement on the laws for presidential and legislative elections.

The members of the Libyan 6 + 6 Joint Committee for the Preparation of Electoral Laws, which is mandated by the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State, have agreed on laws regulating presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for the end of this year.

The Saudi ministry expressed hopes that the Libyan parties would formally sign the electoral laws, being an “important step towards ending the crisis.”

 



Britain Hands Lebanon Extra $13 Mln in Humanitarian Support

A man runs for cover as smoke rises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man runs for cover as smoke rises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Britain Hands Lebanon Extra $13 Mln in Humanitarian Support

A man runs for cover as smoke rises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A man runs for cover as smoke rises in the background following an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Britain said it would provide an additional 10 million pounds ($13 million) of humanitarian support to Lebanon to help the country deal with the mass displacement of people and the growing number of civilian casualties.

More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by Israeli attacks, and nearly 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli raids on Lebanon over the last year, most of them in the past two weeks, Lebanese authorities said.

The southern suburb of Dahiye, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Hezbollah, came under renewed strikes near midnight on Thursday after Israel ordered people to leave their homes in some areas, residents and security sources said.

The air raids targeted Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine, rumored successor to its assassinated leader Hassan Nasrallah, in an underground bunker, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X, citing three Israeli officials.

Safieddine's fate was not clear, he said.