Libya’s Eastern Govt Holds Conference on Reconstruction of Coastal City Destroyed by Floods

A general view shows destruction left by floods after the Mediterranean storm "Daniel" hit Libya's eastern city of Derna, on September 14, 2023. (AFP)
A general view shows destruction left by floods after the Mediterranean storm "Daniel" hit Libya's eastern city of Derna, on September 14, 2023. (AFP)
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Libya’s Eastern Govt Holds Conference on Reconstruction of Coastal City Destroyed by Floods

A general view shows destruction left by floods after the Mediterranean storm "Daniel" hit Libya's eastern city of Derna, on September 14, 2023. (AFP)
A general view shows destruction left by floods after the Mediterranean storm "Daniel" hit Libya's eastern city of Derna, on September 14, 2023. (AFP)

An international conference on reconstruction of one of Libya’s coastal cities, decimated in a fatal flood in September, began Wednesday, one of Libya's rival governments announced.

In the early hours of Sept. 11, two dilapidated dams in the mountains above the eastern city of Derna collapsed, sending floodwaters roaring down the Wadi Derna river and through the city center, sweeping away entire city blocks. Government officials and aid agencies have given estimated death tolls ranging from more than 4,000 to over 11,000.

The two-day conference marks a tentative step toward the rebuilding of the city, with a total of 400 participants convening in Derna on Wednesday and in Benghazi on Thursday, Libya's eastern government said.

Most of the attendees are representatives from international delegations or companies specializing in infrastructure development and housing, the government said in an online statement.

The oil rich country has been divided between rival governments in its east and west for almost a decade, and has been mired in chaos since longtime ruler Moammar al-Gadhafi was ousted and later killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

Following the fatal flood, both people inside and outside of Libya called for an international investigation, reflecting the deep public mistrust in state institutions.

The two dams had not been maintained for decades despite repeated warnings that they were in need of repair.

According to Libya's eastern government, the conference is divided into three focus areas: the environment, development and future planning. No representatives from Libya's western government, which is seated in the capital Tripoli, attended the conference, according to the rival administration.



Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Israel Orders Evacuation of Area Designated as Humanitarian Zone in Gaza

 A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
A picture taken in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing during Israeli army operations in areas east of Khan Younis city on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

Israel’s military ordered the evacuation Saturday of a crowded part of Gaza designated as a humanitarian zone, saying it is planning an operation against Hamas militants in Khan Younis, including parts of Muwasi, a makeshift tent camp where thousands are seeking refuge.

The order comes in response to rocket fire that Israel says originates from the area. It's the second evacuation issued in a week in an area designated for Palestinians fleeing other parts of Gaza. Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israel's punishing air and ground campaign.

On Monday, after the evacuation order, multiple Israeli airstrikes hit around Khan Younis, killing at least 70 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, citing figures from Nasser Hospital.

The area is part of a 60-square-kilometer (roughly 20-square-mile) “humanitarian zone” to which Israel has been telling Palestinians to flee to throughout the war. Much of the area is blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, United Nations and humanitarian groups say. About 1.8 million Palestinians are sheltering there, according to Israel's estimates. That's more than half Gaza’s pre-war population of 2.3 million.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 39,100 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The UN estimated in February that some 17,000 children in the territory are now unaccompanied, and the number is likely to have grown since.

The war began with an assault by Hamas fighters on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages. About 115 are still in Gaza, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.