Security Tensions Engulf Tripoli, LNA Field Marshal Hafter Visits Cairo

Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter, Reuters
Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter, Reuters
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Security Tensions Engulf Tripoli, LNA Field Marshal Hafter Visits Cairo

Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter, Reuters
Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter, Reuters

Battles ruptured with two days ago pitting eastern Tripoli-based militias against each other. Meanwhile, special operations forces affiliated with the National Presidential Council headed by the internationally-recognized leader Fayez Al-Sarraj renounced claims on it carrying out orders made by Libyan National Army (LNA)'s Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter.

Hafter sat for talks with Cairo leaders to review Egypt’s efforts to unify Libya’s military institution.

Security tensions continue to cloud the atmosphere in west-east Tripoli, especially after Sarraj-linked forces, led by western zone military Commander Ossama al Jowaili, attacked LNA’s fourth brigade headquarters.

Local residents and military sources reported military forces inching in rom Zintan, about 136 kilometers southwest of Tripoli, towards the Aziziyah area, as part of a safety operation.

The Zintan Brigades said it was targeting crime scenes and outlaws. On the other hand, Zintan rebels preceded the clashes by issuing a public warning to area residents advising them to stay away from gatherings and places close to clashes.

On that note, the National Committee for Human Rights in Libya expressed its "great and grave" concern that military buildup and movements coming from Zintan is in preparation to wage a regional war led by factions and armed groups led by Jowaili.

In a statement, the Committee warned against these armed movements bearing a mark of a violent escalation and armed clashes.

More so, it called upon the international community to take preemptive swift that will curb such a dire step up which threatens the security, safety and lives of civilians.

In the meantime, special operations commander Major Imad Trabelsi denied joining forces with the Sarraj’s UN-backed government. He pointed out that his forces are loyal to the LNA.

Sarraj early on Thursday discussed with a number of deputies and security leaders ways to secure the entire coastal road, and eradicate hindrances inhibiting a safe and regulated movement.

According to a statement distributed by office aides, Sarraj stressed the need to "unite all efforts until Libya rises above the current crisis and strives confidently towards the state of institutions and law."

Meanwhile, Egyptian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hafter’s two-day visit to Cairo was aimed at meeting with Mohamed Farid Hijazi, the chief of staff of the new armed forces.



Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israeli Missile Hits Gaza Children Collecting Water

A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman reacts as a young man carries the body of her child killed in an Israeli strike, in front of Gaza City's Maamadani (Baptist) hospital on July 13, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least eight Palestinians, most of them children, were killed and more than a dozen were wounded in central Gaza when they went to collect water on Sunday, local officials said.

The Israeli military said the missile had intended to hit an Islamic Jihad militant in the area but that a malfunction had caused it to fall "dozens of meters from the target".

"The IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians," it said in a statement, adding that the incident was under review.

The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, said Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital.

Water shortages in Gaza have worsened sharply in recent weeks, with fuel shortages causing desalination and sanitation facilities to close, making people dependent on collection centers where they can fill up their plastic containers.

Hours later, 12 people were killed by an Israeli strike on a market in Gaza City, including a prominent hospital consultant, Ahmad Qandil, Palestinian media reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that more than 58,000 people had been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, with 139 people added to the death toll over the past 24 hours.

Negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire appeared to be deadlocked, with the two sides divided over the extent of an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian and Israeli sources said at the weekend.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene ministers late on Sunday to discuss the latest developments in the talks, an Israeli official said.

The indirect talks over a US proposal for a 60-day ceasefire are being held in Doha, but optimism that surfaced last week of a looming deal has largely faded, with both sides accusing each other of intransigence.

Netanyahu in a video he posted on Telegram on Sunday said Israel would not back down from its core demands - releasing all the hostages still in Gaza, destroying Hamas and ensuring Gaza will never again be a threat to Israel.