Libyan Foreign Minister Flees to Türkiye

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA
TT

Libyan Foreign Minister Flees to Türkiye

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA
Libyan Foreign Minister Najla el-Mangoush - EPA

 

Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush left Libya and flew to Türkiye on a government plane with the assistance of the Internal Security Agency (ISA), Israel's Ynet said citing sources.

However, ISA denied alleged reports regarding permitting or facilitating her escape, stressing that she did not pass through the official channels at Mitiga Airport.

Mangoush was suspended from her post on Sunday and was referred for investigation after Israel said its Foreign Minister Eli Cohen had met her last week despite the countries not having formal relations.

Libya's Foreign Ministry said Mangoush had rejected a meeting with representatives of Israel and that what had occurred was "an unprepared, casual encounter during a meeting at Italy's Foreign Affairs Ministry."

"I spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations," Israel's Cohen said in a statement.

Cohen said he had spoken to Mangoush about the importance of preserving Jewish heritage in Libya.



Heavy Israeli Strikes Shake Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
TT

Heavy Israeli Strikes Shake Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Strong explosions in Beirut's southern suburbs began near midnight and continued into Sunday after Israel's military urged residents to evacuate areas in Dahiyeh.

Photos and video showed the blasts illuminating the southern suburbs, and sparking flashes of red and white visible from several kilometers away. They followed a day of sporadic strikes and the nearly continuous buzz of reconnaissance drones.

Israel's military confirmed it was striking targets near Beirut and said about 30 projectiles had crossed

from Lebanon into Israeli territory, with some intercepted.

The strikes reportedly targeted a building near a road leading to Rafik Hariri International Airport, and another building formerly used by the Hezbollah-run broadcaster Al-Manar. Social media reports claimed that one of the strikes hit an oxygen tank storage facility, but this was later denied by the owner of the company Khaled Kaddouha.

Shortly thereafter, Hezbollah claimed in a statement that it successfully targeted a group of Israeli soldiers near the Manara settlement in northern Israel “with a large rocket salvo, hitting them accurately.”

Israeli military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on Saturday that Israel had killed 440 Hezbollah fighters in its ground operations in southern Lebanon and destroyed 2,000 Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah has not released death tolls.

Israel says it stepped up its assault on Hezbollah to enable the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to homes in northern Israel, bombarded by the group since last Oct. 8.

Israeli authorities said on Saturday that nine Israeli soldiers had been killed in southern Lebanon so far.