UN Says 'Extent of Problem' in Flood-ravaged Libya Unclear

At least 4,000 people are thought to have perished but provisional figures vary enormously - AAWSAT AR
At least 4,000 people are thought to have perished but provisional figures vary enormously - AAWSAT AR
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UN Says 'Extent of Problem' in Flood-ravaged Libya Unclear

At least 4,000 people are thought to have perished but provisional figures vary enormously - AAWSAT AR
At least 4,000 people are thought to have perished but provisional figures vary enormously - AAWSAT AR

The UN aid chief on Friday said the extent of the catastrophe in flood-ravaged Libya was unclear.

"I think the issue for us in Libya is of course coordinating with... the government and then the other authority in the east of the country," Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said, AFP reported.

"We don't know the extent of the problem," he stressed.

Griffiths welcomed a proposal by the mayor of the port city of Derna, the site of a tsunami-sized flash flood after two dams burst, for rescuers and aid to be sent there by sea.

"You've got obviously maritime access, you would ship in aid as well," he said.

"You don't choose one route over another, you do all of them. You still keep coming in from the land... but certainly, adding the maritime option makes complete sense".

Emergency workers sifting through the mud and rubble of the flood disaster in Libya are still hopeful of finding survivors, the Red Cross chief in the country said Friday.

"The hope is there, is always there, to find people alive," said Tamer Ramadan, the head of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent's rescue effort in the North African country.

The known death toll rose to 11,300 dead but provisional figures vary enormously.

Ramadan did not give an estimate of the toll, saying the "the definite numbers will be available upon the finalization of the assessment of the ground."

Calling the situation "catastrophic", the United Nations launched an appeal for more than $71 million to respond to the "most urgent needs of 250,000 people targeted out of the 884,000 people estimated to be in need".



Red Cross: Gaza Humanitarian Work on 'Verge of Total Collapse'

People look for survivors in the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli strike in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
People look for survivors in the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli strike in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Red Cross: Gaza Humanitarian Work on 'Verge of Total Collapse'

People look for survivors in the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli strike in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
People look for survivors in the rubble of a building hit in an Israeli strike in the Bureij camp for Palestinian refugees in the central Gaza Strip on May 2, 2025. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

The Red Cross warned Friday that the humanitarian response in Gaza was on the "verge of total collapse" after two months of Israel blocking aid to the war-torn Palestinian territory.

"Without an immediate resumption of aid deliveries, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will not have access to the food, medicines, and life-saving supplies needed to sustain many of its programs in Gaza," AFP quoted it as saying in a statement.

Israel strictly controls all inflows of international aid vital for the 2.4 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

It halted aid deliveries to Gaza on March 2, days before the collapse of a ceasefire that had significantly reduced hostilities after 15 months of war.

Since the start of the blockade, the United Nations has repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming.

"Civilians in Gaza are facing an overwhelming daily struggle to survive the dangers of hostilities, cope with relentless displacement, and endure the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian assistance," Pascal Hundt, ICRC Deputy Director of Operations said in Friday's statement.

"This situation must not —- and cannot -— be allowed to escalate further."

ICRC stressed that under international humanitarian law, "Israel has an obligation to use all means available to ensure that the basic needs of the civilian population under its control are met".

"If the blockage continues, programs such as the ICRC common kitchens — which often provide the only meal people receive each day — will only be able to operate for a few more weeks," it warned.

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) said a week ago that it had sent out its "last remaining food stocks" to kitchens.

ICRC cautioned that the field hospital it runs in Gaza was also "running dangerously low on food and medical supplies, with some essential medicines and consumables already exhausted".

"Disruption to water systems, including the closure of water pipelines and destruction of critical sewage trucks, has created an unacceptably high risk of waterborne diseases," it said.

This dire situation was compounded by repeated attacks impacting the work of healthcare facilities and personnel, ICRC said.