Libyan Army Announces Launching New Battalion for ‘Rapid Intervention’

Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Reuters
Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Reuters
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Libyan Army Announces Launching New Battalion for ‘Rapid Intervention’

Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Reuters
Marshal Khalifa Haftar. Reuters

The Libyan National Army (LNA) announced the establishment of a new battalion under the name of "rapid intervention" but did not specify its functions.

The army also continued to demine the city of Benghazi, east the country, and remove the corps of extremists after announcing its full control over the city last week.

Marshal Khalifa Haftar issued a decision on Monday to establish the battalion and appoint Lieutenant Colonel Emad al-Zwei as its commander, and he said it should follow the National Army's "control body.”

The decision did not specify the nature of the battalion and its tasks, but military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that it comes within the framework of the army's readiness to move towards other Libyan cities to continue its operations to free them from the grip of extremist groups.

Meanwhile, the Libyan Red Crescent has recovered 17 corps of terrorists, who were killed during the army's battles to free the areas of Sidi Ekhrebish and the Benghazi’s municipal hotel.

Spokesman for the LNA special forces Colonel Miloud al-Zwei said that the city of Benghazi is already under control of the army, pointing out that one of the terrorists committed suicide Sunday evening in the Qawarsha area west of the city.

He said the Special Forces asked the terrorist to turn himself in voluntarily, but he resorted to bombing himself.

The death toll from booby traps and landmines planted by terrorists in Benghazi has amounted to 197 military and civilian personnel over the past year while 27 experts have been killed in an attempt to demine some areas of the clashes, according to a statistic presented by a military official on Monday.

Abdul Salam al-Massmari, commander of the military engineering faction of the army, said that the army’s general command issued instructions to launch an awareness campaign through the publication of posters and guidelines in the areas that were liberated from ISIS.

Army forces began a large-scale sweep of the fighting areas days after the army declared full control of Benghazi, knowing that Haftar has announced the liberation of the city in July after three years of fierce fighting.



UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
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UN Chief: Palestinians in Gaza Enduring Humanitarian Catastrophe of Epic Proportions

Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)
Smoke rises as a result of an Israeli airstrike in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, near Gaza City, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, 29 July 2025. (EPA)

A trickle of aid into the Gaza Strip must become an ocean, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday.

“Food, water, medicine and fuel must flow in waves and without obstruction,” he said, describing an alert by a global hunger monitor on Tuesday as confirming “what we have feared: Gaza is on the brink of famine.”

“Palestinians in Gaza are enduring a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. This is not a warning. It is a reality unfolding before our eyes,” he said in a statement.

A worst-case scenario of famine is unfolding in Gaza and immediate action is needed to end fighting and allow unimpeded aid access, a global hunger monitor warned on Tuesday, saying failure to act now would result in widespread death.

Its alert coincided with a statement from Gaza health authorities saying Israel's military campaign had now killed more than 60,000 Palestinians.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) raised the prospect that the manmade starvation crisis could be formally classified as a famine, in the hope that this might raise the pressure on Israel to let far more food deliveries in.

"Mounting evidence shows that widespread starvation, malnutrition, and disease are driving a rise in hunger-related deaths," the IPC said.

It added that it would quickly carry out the formal analysis that could allow it to classify Gaza as "in famine".