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".



Netanyahu Asks US to Broker Israel-Syria Negotiations

US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
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Netanyahu Asks US to Broker Israel-Syria Negotiations

US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)
US envoy Tom Barrack meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Türkiye on May 24, 2025 (EPA)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US envoy Tom Barrack he is interested in negotiating with the new Syrian government, with the US serving as mediator, two Israeli officials told Axios on Wednesday.

“Netanyahu is interested in negotiating an updated security deal and working up towards a full peace agreement,” according to a senior Israeli official.

“When Barrack met Netanyahu last week, the Israeli prime minister told him he wants to use the momentum from the Trump-al-Sharaa meeting to start US-mediated negotiations with Syria,” an Israeli official said.

A senior Israel official also told Axios that Netanyahu's goal is to try and reach a set of agreements, starting with an updated security deal based on the 1974 disengagement of forces agreement, with modifications, and ending with a peace deal between the countries.

The prime minister believes Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa's aspiration to build close ties with the Trump administration create a diplomatic opportunity. “We want to try and move towards normalization with Syria as soon as possible,” the official said.

According to the official, Barrack told the Israelis that al-Sharaa is open to discussing new agreements with Israel.

After his visit to Israel, Barrack traveled to Washington and briefed Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

A US official said the Israelis presented to Barrack their “red lines” on Syria: No Turkish military bases in the country, no renewed Iranian and Hezbollah presence and the demilitarization of southern Syria.

The Israelis told Barrack they will keep their forces in Syria until a new agreement is signed that includes the demilitarization of southern Syria, an Israeli official said.

The official added that in a new future border deal with Syria, Israel wants to add US forces to the UN force that was previously stationed on the border.

In a related development, the Israeli forces on Wednesday seized one vehicle and arrested three workers employed by Al-Quneitra city council. The forces had advanced into Al-Qahtaniyah village in Syria’s southern countryside of the governorate, deploying within residential neighborhoods and firing guns into the air.

The Syrian TV reported that the deployment coincided with loudspeaker announcements calling on residents to stay in their homes.

Last Sunday, the Israeli forces destroyed an agricultural land near the border in the southern countryside of Quneitra and confiscated a flock of sheep.

Earlier, the Israeli forces had carried out airstrikes in southern Syria, saying it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel.

Israeli shelling also targeted agricultural areas in the Wadi Yarmouk region.

Residents described increased tensions in recent weeks, including reported Israeli incursions into villages, where they have reportedly been barred from sowing their crops.