Head of Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and Italy's visiting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands as they exchange a commemorative plaque during the inauguration of the 30th session of the Libyan-Italian Business Forum at the Tripoli Exhibition Center in Tripoli on October 29, 2024. (AFP)
Head of Libya's Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah and Italy's visiting Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands as they exchange a commemorative plaque during the inauguration of the 30th session of the Libyan-Italian Business Forum at the Tripoli Exhibition Center in Tripoli on October 29, 2024. (AFP)
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced on Tuesday that flights with Libya will resume next year.
Italy’s national carrier ITA Airways will resume the flights in early 2025, she revealed during a visit to Libya - her fourth in 18 months.
Along with head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, she took part in the opening of the 30th session of the Libyan-Italian Business Forum in the capital Tripoli.
Speaking at the event, she said relations with Libya were a “priority” and that they haven’t reached their highest levels yet.
She stressed that her government was seeking to restore some cooperation projects that were signed with Libya years ago and that it wanted to explore more opportunities for cooperation.
For his part, Dbeibah underscored the importance of bolstering the fruitful bilateral cooperation with Italy, noting that relations have witnessed great development in recent months.
He confirmed that Italy will resume flights to Libya next year.
He also expressed his delight with what he called positive progress in reviving the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation that has been suspended for 14 years.
The GNU and Italian government signed seven agreements on the sidelines of the Libyan-Italian Business Forum covering trade, civil aviation, finance and health.
Meloni said Italy will remain committed to supporting Libya achieve sustainable economic development.
She noted that trade between Italy and Libya doubled in the past two years, adding that her fourth visit to Tripoli is important in developing relations between the two countries and reaching higher levels of partnership in all fields.
Several Libyan and Italian companies are taking part in the Tripoli forum to bolster trade between them.
Far-Right Israeli Minister Boasts of Worse Prison Conditions for Palestinianshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5312633-far-right-israeli-minister-boasts-worse-prison-conditions-palestinians
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event at which new weapons are distributed to Israel's police volunteer security teams in Ashkelon, Israel, October 27, 2023. (Reuters)
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Far-Right Israeli Minister Boasts of Worse Prison Conditions for Palestinians
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attends an event at which new weapons are distributed to Israel's police volunteer security teams in Ashkelon, Israel, October 27, 2023. (Reuters)
Israel's far-right national security minister on Sunday boasted of worsening conditions for Palestinian prisoners as he visited female inmates.
Two months before elections, Itamar Ben-Gvir posted a video in which a veiled woman, her face blurred out, said that prisoners had "extremely bad" conditions and "don't get any rights, and we have particular needs as women".
"We haven't bathed for three days and we haven't changed our underwear," she said, warning of the risk of disease.
Ben-Gvir responds approvingly as he compares the treatment to that of hostages held for up to two years by Hamas and other fighters in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks.
"Our hostages had no shampoo and had no such conditions. I am proud that we have succeeded in reducing the terrorists' prison conditions to the bare minimum. The summer camps in the prisons are over," Ben-Gvir said.
Ben-Gvir, who earlier in his career was convicted of offenses including racism, has a history of provocative actions and statements.
Earlier this year, he posted a video of himself taunting foreign activists of an intercepted flotilla that tried to break the blockade of Gaza, saying "welcome to Israel" as they were forced to kneel with shackled hands.
The activists reported physical abuse, with an Australian saying Israeli authorities sexually assaulted her. Israel denied the allegations.
Ben-Gvir again drew international condemnation recently when he said Israel should kill 30 to 40 Palestinians each night in Gaza.
According to her husband, the prisoner speaking in the video is Yasmine Shaaban, who was re-arrested by Israeli forces in May 2025 during a raid on her home near Jenin, months after being released as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement.
The Palestinian Authority's Commission on Detainees Affairs accused Ben Gvir of "brutality, hatred and racism".
The Gaza prisoners ministry under Hamas said Ben-Gvir's video "reflects the depths of depravity to which the occupation regime has sunk".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition is struggling in some polls ahead of October 27 elections, and Ben-Gvir has refused his pleas to boost the right-wing's chances by running jointly with a fellow ultranationalist.
Israel Army Says Struck Hamas Commander in Gaza Hospital Compoundhttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5312609-israel-army-says-struck-hamas-commander-gaza-hospital-compound
Smoke billows following Israeli demolition of residential structures east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on August 25, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Army Says Struck Hamas Commander in Gaza Hospital Compound
Smoke billows following Israeli demolition of residential structures east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on August 25, 2026. (AFP)
Israel's military said it struck a Hamas commander within the compound of a Gaza hospital on Saturday, while the territory's health officials said Israeli strikes elsewhere killed four people.
It is the latest bloodshed to occur in the war-shattered territory despite a US-backed ceasefire that took effect in October 2025, with Israel continuing to target Palestinians it says are fighters.
The military said it struck a Hamas commander who "was hiding within the compound" of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah, but was unable to immediately confirm if he had been killed.
It said the commander, who it did not name, advanced "attacks against Israeli troops and civilians" and was targeted in a structure adjacent to hospital buildings.
"Earlier today, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital was targeted, with a small storage facility hit," the hospital's director Raed Hussein said.
"Thankfully, there were no major casualties, apart from four minor injuries," he told AFP, but said the strike had "caused extensive material damage."
AFP footage from the scene showed several damaged water tanks on the roof of a building and debris down below.
The military said steps had been taken to "mitigate the risk to civilians", adding that it had warned Gazan medical authorities two days earlier about "the cessation of the use of medical facilities for terrorist purposes".
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that it was "appalled by reports of an Israeli airstrike within the Al-Aqsa Hospital compound," adding that "hospitals should be safe places for patients and healthcare workers."
"At a time when Israeli forces are routinely targeting hospitals, it is of utmost importance that all parties respect and preserve the neutrality and protection of medical facilities," it wrote on X.
Gaza's civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under Hamas, said four people were killed in other strikes across the territory on Saturday.
Israeli fire east of Deir al-Balah killed one person, the agency said. The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.
An Israeli strike near a roundabout in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City killed two people and injured several others, the civil defense said.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it struck a "military operative" in the area.
Another strike killed one person and critically injured another in the southern city of Khan Yunis, the civil defense said. The Israeli military said it was checking the reports.
Israel has kept striking Gaza and its forces have made further inroads despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced in October, with Israel insisting it must eliminate threats from Hamas, which led the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack against Israel.
Israeli operations in Gaza have killed at least 1,313 people since the ceasefire came into effect, according to the Palestinian territory's health ministry, which also operates under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.
The Israeli army has reported five deaths in its ranks over the same period, as well as the death of one civilian contractor.
Al-Hijiri Gunmen Prevent Students in Syria’s Sweida from Sitting for Official Examshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5312572-al-hijiri-gunmen-prevent-students-syria%E2%80%99s-sweida-sitting-official-exams
Al-Hijiri Gunmen Prevent Students in Syria’s Sweida from Sitting for Official Exams
Students who made it to school despite the unrest, sit for official exams. (Sweida governorate)
Armed factions in Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province have blocked students from travelling to sit for official exams, demanding they be held instead in the areas they control, drawing condemnation from the Damascus-appointed governor on Saturday.
The factions are part of the so-called “National Guard” that is affiliated with prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri who control swathes of the province.
Sweida city and other parts of the southern province are run by local armed groups and are the last areas outside the grasp of Syria's new authorities, who have been trying to establish control over the entire country after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in 2024.
Tensions have run high ever since clashes last year between the Druze and government-aligned forces that spiraled into some of the worst internecine violence the country had witnessed since Assad's fall.
The authorities had scheduled an exam session for Saturday in the government-controlled north of the province for students who were unable to take the test two months ago due to the ongoing tensions.
But Druze fighters in Shahba, north of Sweida city, said in a statement on Friday that "all roads are completely closed to the movement of students and proctors to examination centers outside the area", insisting that tests should be held in their areas instead, citing security concerns.
Sweida governor Mustafa al-Bakkur condemned the move on Saturday, saying: "Outlaw gangs are working to make the future of Sweida's students a political bargaining chip to be manipulated as they please."
He said that around 150 students were still able to sit for their exams, some of them having left Druze-controlled areas days prior to avoid any obstacles.
Volunteers from the Syrian Arab Red Crescent on the Damascus-Sweida road. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
- 'Shots in the air' -
One 18-year-old student told AFP she was on a bus in Sweida city hoping for the road to open when "an armed group arrived and threatened the students".
"Some members of these factions fired shots into the air to intimidate and frighten the students" after they insisted on heading north, she added, requesting anonymity out of fear for her safety.
The education ministry said in a statement that it "regrets that not all of our students were able to reach the examination centers".
A source in Sweida told Asharq Al-Awsat that the factions are aiming to “obstruct realistic solutions to the crisis in the provinces.”
He accused the factions of deliberately seeking to keep students out of school, so that they can continue to manipulate their education for their own interests. Many members of the factions themselves did not complete their education.
Reacting to Saturday's events, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Marianne Ward said the body was "concerned" by the developments.
"The United Nations calls on all relevant stakeholders to ensure that children with the support of their caregivers can exercise their right to education without pressure or disruption of movement," she added.
In July 2025, clashes erupted in Sweida between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters, with security forces intervening on the side of the Bedouins along with other tribal groups.
In the end, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. A committee formed by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of 1,760 people.
Damascus last month said it began trying suspects over the violence.
Israel, which also has a Druze population, intervened militarily during the clashes with strikes in Sweida and Damascus, saying it was defending the minority community.
Al-Hijri, who has been a vocal critic of the new authorities, went so far as to say on Monday that his community was "an integral part of the State of Israel".
The source in Sweida told Asharq Al-Awsat that several members of the Druze community have spoken out against al-Hijri's stances.
The Druze council in Lebanon and other political forces in Sweida also rejected his positions, underscoring the Druze community’s Arab identity and history.
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