US Pledges to Support Unity of Libyan Military

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Abdoulaye Bathily, and municipal leaders in the Amazigh town of Jadu in western Libya. Photo: Bathily's account on X
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Abdoulaye Bathily, and municipal leaders in the Amazigh town of Jadu in western Libya. Photo: Bathily's account on X
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US Pledges to Support Unity of Libyan Military

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Abdoulaye Bathily, and municipal leaders in the Amazigh town of Jadu in western Libya. Photo: Bathily's account on X
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Abdoulaye Bathily, and municipal leaders in the Amazigh town of Jadu in western Libya. Photo: Bathily's account on X

The United States has expressed continued support for efforts to unify the Libyan military.

During a visit this week to Misrata and Al Khoms, “the US Defense Attache delegation made productive visits to the Central Military Zone, Al Khoms naval base, and various important military and counterterrorism forces,” the US embassy to Libya said on X.

The statement expressed US appreciation to these forces’ strategic role and commitment to peace.

“We will continue to support efforts in all regions of Libya to promote enduring security, unify the Libyan military, and safeguard Libyan sovereignty,” it added.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Abdoulaye Bathily, met on Monday with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Libya Shimmura Izuru.

“We reviewed the current political, security, and economic landscape, and the challenges to advancing the political process, including forming a unified government,” Bathily said on X.

He also met with French Ambassador Mustafa Mihraj to discuss the latest political and security developments in Libya and the prospects for reviving the stalled political process.

“We also touched on the situation in neighboring countries and the possible impact on Libya,” Bathily said on X.

Furthermore, Bathily visited the Amazigh town of Jadu in western Libya and met with municipal leaders there.

“Throughout my visits to numerous cities, engaging with a variety of citizens and cultural groups, I’ve discerned a clear desire among the Libyan people to resolve this crisis and achieve stability. The responsibility for the current division in the country squarely lies with its political leaders,” Bathily stated.

“Given that electoral laws are in place, the time is now ripe for a political settlement and the formation of a unified government to lead the country until elections are completed. I urge you, as Amazigh municipal leaders, to engage with national leaders to find a solution to the Libyan crisis,” he added.



Israel Cuts off Gaza’s Southern City of Rafah, Vows to ‘Vigorously’ Expand in the Territory

 Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
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Israel Cuts off Gaza’s Southern City of Rafah, Vows to ‘Vigorously’ Expand in the Territory

 Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)
Displaced Palestinians flee from east to west of Gaza City after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders in the area, Friday April 11, 2025. (AP)

Israel announced Saturday it has completed construction of a new security corridor that cuts off the southern city of Rafah from the rest of Gaza, as the military said it would soon expand "vigorously" in most of the small coastal territory. Palestinians were further squeezed into shrinking areas of land.

"Soon, (military) activity will expand rapidly to additional locations throughout most of Gaza and you will have to evacuate the fighting zones," Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement, without saying where Palestinians were meant to go.

The statement urged Palestinians to stand up and remove Hamas and release the remaining hostages, saying: "This is the only way to stop the war." There was no immediate Hamas response.

Israeli troops were deployed last week to the new security corridor referred to as Morag, the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, after the army ordered sweeping evacuations covering most of Rafah, indicating it could soon launch another major ground operation.

Israel has vowed to seize large parts of Gaza to pressure Hamas to release the remaining 59 hostages, 24 of them believed to be alive, and accept proposed new ceasefire terms.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has also imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left the territory’s roughly 2 million Palestinians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle — a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime.

Israel has claimed that enough supplies entered Gaza during the two-month ceasefire that it shattered last month. Aid groups have disputed that.

Netanyahu has said Morag would be "a second Philadelphi corridor," referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt farther south, which has been under Israeli control since May 2024. Israel has also reasserted control of the Netzarim corridor, which cuts off Gaza's northern third from the rest of the territory.

The corridors, coupled with a buffer zone that Israel has razed and expanded, give it more than 50% control of the territory.

Katz said Palestinians interested in "voluntarily" relocating to other countries would be able to as part of a proposal by US President Donald Trump. Palestinians have rejected the proposal and expressed their determination to remain in their homeland.

Trump and Israeli officials have not said how they would respond if Palestinians refuse to leave Gaza. But Human Rights Watch and other groups say the plan would amount to "ethnic cleansing" — the forcible relocation of the civilian population of an ethnic group from a geographic area.

Many Palestinians have been crowding into squalid tent camps or the rubble of their previous homes, often displacing multiple times in response to Israel's evacuation orders since the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, killed some 1,200 people, many of them civilians, and sparked the war.

Israel on Saturday ordered the evacuation of areas east of Khan Younis ahead of an attack. Military spokesperson Avichay Adraee added that fighters had fired rockets into Israel from these areas.

Israeli strikes across Gaza continued, killing at least 21 people in the last 24 hours, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants but says most of the over 50,000 Palestinians killed in the war have been women and children.

The ministry said at least 1,500 people have been killed since Israel's surprise bombardment resumed the war last month.

Israel says it has killed around 20,000 fighters in the war, without providing evidence.