Aid Arrives in Flood-Hit Libya as Derna Death Toll Estimated at 11,300

A view of a damaged neighborhood after Storm Daniel swept across eastern Libya, in the port city of Derna, eastern Libya, 16 September 2023. (EPA)
A view of a damaged neighborhood after Storm Daniel swept across eastern Libya, in the port city of Derna, eastern Libya, 16 September 2023. (EPA)
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Aid Arrives in Flood-Hit Libya as Derna Death Toll Estimated at 11,300

A view of a damaged neighborhood after Storm Daniel swept across eastern Libya, in the port city of Derna, eastern Libya, 16 September 2023. (EPA)
A view of a damaged neighborhood after Storm Daniel swept across eastern Libya, in the port city of Derna, eastern Libya, 16 September 2023. (EPA)

A week after a wall of water rushed through the Libyan coastal city of Derna, sweeping thousands to their deaths, the focus turned Sunday to caring for survivors of the disaster.

Estimates of the number of lives lost vary widely.

The most recent official death toll, from the health minister of the eastern-based administration, Othman Abdeljalil, is that 3,166 people were killed.

But according to a United Nations report released on Sunday, the toll from Derna alone has risen to 11,300.

Citing the Libyan Red Crescent, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added that another 10,100 people were still missing in the devastated city.

"These figures are expected to rise in the coming days and weeks as search-and-rescue crews work tirelessly to find survivors," the OCHA report said.

Aid is now arriving in the North African country as the world mobilizes to help emergency services cope with the aftermath of the deadly flood.

At least 40,000 people have been displaced across northeastern Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration, which cautioned the actual number is likely higher given the difficulty accessing the worst-affected areas.

Two dams upstream from Derna burst a week ago under the pressure of torrential rains from the hurricane-strength Storm Daniel.

The dams had been built to protect the port city of 100,000 people after it was hit by significant flooding in the mid-20th century.

The banks of a dried riverbed or wadi running through the city center had been heavily built on, and last week's torrent swept everything before it as it rushed towards the Mediterranean.

A week on, bodies are still being found.

A rescue crew from Malta's Civil Protection Department discovered a beach strewn with dead bodies on Friday, the Times of Malta newspaper reported.

International aid is arriving from the United Nations, Europe and the Middle East, offering some relief to the thousands of survivors.

The aid includes essential medicines and emergency surgical supplies, as well as body bags to allow corpses to be moved.

Tents, blankets, carpets, hygiene kits and food have been flown in, along with heavy machinery to help clear the debris.

Questions being asked

The devastating flooding brought by Storm Daniel was exacerbated by poor infrastructure in Libya, which was plunged into turmoil after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime ruler Moammar al-Gaddafi in 2011.

Questions are being asked as to why the disaster was not prevented, when cracks in the dams have been known about since 1998.

Prosecutor general Al-Seddik Al-Sour has announced an investigation into the circumstances leading to the collapse.

Like much of Libya's crumbling infrastructure, the two dams that had been built to hold back water from Derna fell into disrepair during years of neglect, conflict and division in chaos-ridden Libya.

The country is currently ruled by two rival administrations that have battled for power since Gaddafi’s ousting.

With tens of thousands of people displaced, aid organizations have warned of the risks posed by leftover landmines and other unexploded ordnance, some of which the UN said have been shifted by floodwaters into areas previously declared clear.

The risks of water-borne diseases such as cholera are also high, according to aid groups.

Outside Derna, the flooding took an additional 170 lives, the UN's report said.

The National Center for Disease Control reported that at least 55 children were poisoned as a result of drinking polluted water in Derna.

To assist the hundreds of thousands of people in need, the UN has launched an appeal for more than $71 million.

"We don't know the extent of the problem," UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said on Friday, as he called for coordination between Libya's two rival administrations -- the Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli, and one based in the disaster-hit east.

The scale of the devastation has prompted shows of solidarity, as volunteers in Tripoli gathered aid for the flood victims.

Survivors in Derna are glad to be alive, even as they mourn the loss of loved ones.

"In this city, every single family has been affected," said Derna resident Mohammad al-Dawali.

Seir Mohammed Seir, a member of the security forces, spoke of a three-month-old girl who lived through the tragedy in Derna.

"Her entire family died, she was the only one who survived."



Hamas and Israel Blame Each Other for Ceasefire Delay

The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
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Hamas and Israel Blame Each Other for Ceasefire Delay

The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)
The silhouettes of a military vehicle and a soldier are seen near the Gaza border, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Israel, December 16, 2024. (Reuters)

The Palestinian group Hamas and Israel traded blame on Wednesday over their failure to conclude a ceasefire agreement despite progress reported by both sides in past days.

Hamas said that Israel had laid down further conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of going back on understandings already reached.

"The occupation has set new conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which has delayed reaching the agreement that was available," Hamas said.

It added that it was showing flexibility and that the talks, mediated by Qatar and Egypt, were serious.

Netanyahu countered in a statement: "The Hamas terrorist organization continues to lie, is reneging on understandings that have already been reached, and is continuing to create difficulties in the negotiations."

Israel will, however, continue relentless efforts to return hostages, he added.

Israeli negotiators returned to Israel from Qatar on Tuesday evening for consultations about a hostage deal after a significant week of talks, Netanyahu's office said on Tuesday.

The US and Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up efforts to conclude a phased deal in the past two weeks. One of the challenges has been agreements on Israeli troop deployments.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, speaking with commanders in southern Gaza, said on Wednesday that Israel will retain security control of the enclave, including by means of buffer zones and controlling posts.

Hamas is demanding an end to the war, while Israel says it wants to end Hamas' rule of the enclave first, to ensure it will no longer pose a threat to Israelis.

ISRAEL KEEPS UP MILITARY PRESSURE

Meanwhile Israeli forces kept up pressure on the northern Gaza Strip, in one of the most punishing campaigns of the 14-month war, including around three hospitals on the northern edge of the enclave, in Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and Jabalia.

Palestinians accuse Israel of seeking to permanently depopulate northern Gaza to create a buffer zone. Israel denies this and says it has instructed civilians to leave those areas for their own safety while its troops battle Hamas fighters.

Israeli strikes killed at least 24 people across Gaza on Wednesday, health officials said. One strike hit a former school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City's suburb of Sheikh Radwan, they added.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas fighters operating in the area of Al-Furqan in Gaza City.

Several Palestinians were killed and wounded in the Al-Mawasi area, an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, where the military said it was targeting another Hamas operative.

The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 45,300 Palestinians, according to health officials in the Hamas-run enclave. Most of the population of 2.3 million has been displaced and much of Gaza is in ruins.