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Rome, Moscow Follow Paris Path in Libya

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano meets Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli on Saturday. (AFP)
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano meets Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli on Saturday. (AFP)
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Rome, Moscow Follow Paris Path in Libya

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano meets Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli on Saturday. (AFP)
Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano meets Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli on Saturday. (AFP)

The number of players active in Libya witnessed an increase on Saturday, only a day after a tour carried out by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian between east and west Libya.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano made a surprise visit to Tripoli where he met Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and Moscow announced a readiness to persuade Libyan parties to become involved in the political settlement.

The Italian embassy in Libya revealed in two separate tweets the presence of Italian military forces in the north African country.

According to the Italian foreign ministry, Alfano affirmed to Sarraj, during their meeting, that Italy supports the organizational framework detailed in the Skhirat agreement, Presidential Council and the National Accord government.

For his part, Sarraj reiterated his implicit complaint against Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, saying the lack of commitment by some parties destabilizes the political scene. This demands strict measures by the international community against all those hindering the political agreement.

Russian President's Special Representative for the Middle East and Africa and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov meanwhile relayed to Mohammed Dairi, foreign minister of the Tobruk-based Libyan interim government, Moscow’s support for dialogue among Libyans under the auspices of the UN.

Furthermore, UN Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salamah met on Friday with Mohammed Shukri, who was recently appointed a governor of the central bank, to listen to his financial plan to rescue the Libyan economy.

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Israeli Officials Signal They Want UN to Remain Key Gaza Aid Channel, Says Senior UN Official

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
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Israeli Officials Signal They Want UN to Remain Key Gaza Aid Channel, Says Senior UN Official

Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)
Buildings that were destroyed during the Israeli ground and air operations stand in northern of Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP)

Israeli officials have signaled they want the United Nations to remain the key avenue for humanitarian deliveries in Gaza, the deputy head of the World Food Program said on Friday, noting the work of a controversial US aid group was not discussed.

"They wanted the UN to continue to be the main track for delivery, especially should there be a cease fire, and they asked us to be ready to scale up," Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN food agency, told reporters on Friday after visiting Gaza and Israel last week.

The US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to broker a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.

Hamas said on Wednesday that the flow of aid was one of the sticking points.

Israel and the United States have publicly urged the UN to work through the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, but the UN has refused, questioning the group's neutrality and accusing the distribution model of militarizing aid and forcing displacement.

Skau said he met with Israeli authorities at different levels last week and that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation "did not come up in those conversations."

"I think there were rumors of the UN being pushed out, but it was very clear in my engagement that they want the UN to continue to be the main track in delivery," Skau said.

DEATHS

Since Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade on Gaza on May 19, allowing limited UN deliveries to resume.

The GHF launched its operation, using private US security and logistics firms to transport aid to distribution hubs, a week later.

The United Nations human rights office said on Friday that it had recorded 615 deaths near GHF sites and 183 deaths "presumably on the route of aid convoys" operated by the UN and other relief groups.

The GHF has repeatedly said there have been no deaths at any of its aid distribution sites. The group said on Friday that it has so far delivered more than 70 million meals in Gaza.

The US State Department has approved $30 million in funding for the GHF, which touts its model as "reinventing aid delivery in war zones."

Israel and the United States have accused Hamas of stealing aid from the UN-led operations, which the group denies.

Throughout the conflict, the United Nations has described its humanitarian operation in Gaza as opportunistic - facing problems with Israel's military operation, access restrictions by Israel into and throughout Gaza, and looting by armed gangs.

But the UN has said its aid distribution system works, and that was particularly proven during a two-month ceasefire, which Israel abandoned in mid-March.

The UN said it got 600-700 trucks of aid a day into Gaza during the truce and has stressed then when people know there is a steady flow of aid, the looting subsides.