64 Migrants Die off Libyan Coast

Migrants are rescued off the coast of Libya. (AFP)
Migrants are rescued off the coast of Libya. (AFP)
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64 Migrants Die off Libyan Coast

Migrants are rescued off the coast of Libya. (AFP)
Migrants are rescued off the coast of Libya. (AFP)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Monday that 64 migrants drowned after their flimsy boat sank off the Libyan coast this week.

Flavio Di Giacomo of IOM said in tweet Monday that survivors interviewed by the agency in Catania said 150 people had been aboard the dinghy when it set out from a Libyan beach east of Tripoli.

"Sixty-four migrants lost their life in the shipwreck (which) occurred last Saturday," Di Giacomo said, saying "probably 56 missing migrants" perished at sea.

In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Di Giacomo said the dinghy was packed and made of poor quality rubber.

Eighty six people were plucked from the stricken rubber dinghy on Saturday and eight bodies, all women, were recovered. However, the boat had been carrying 150 migrants, survivors said, with many of the dead vanishing beneath the waves.

The Italian coastguard said the migrants had been spotted on Saturday morning by a plane patrolling the seas on behalf of a European anti-smuggling operation. Rescuers believe their dinghy deflated following a puncture.

The IOM estimated that 2,832 migrants died last year trying to reach Italy from North Africa, down from 4,581 in 2016. Some 119,310 people made it alive to Italy in 2017 against 181,436 the year before.



Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
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Egypt Says Israel-EU Agreement Has Not Increased Aid to Gaza

Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)
Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Badr Abdelatty arrives for a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministers on the sidelines of the EU-Southern Neighborhood Ministerial Meeting at the EU Council in Brussels, Belgium, 14 July 2025. (EPA)

Egypt's foreign minister said on Monday that the flow of aid into Gaza has not increased despite an agreement last week between Israel and the European Union that should have had that result.

"Nothing has changed (on the ground)," Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters ahead of the EU-Middle East meeting in Brussels on Monday.

The EU's top diplomat said on Thursday that the bloc and Israel agreed to improve Gaza's humanitarian situation, including increasing the number of aid trucks and opening crossing points and aid routes.

Asked what steps Israel has taken, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar referred to an understanding with the EU but did not provide details on implementation.

Asked if there were improvements after the agreement, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters that the situation in Gaza remains "catastrophic".

"There is a real catastrophe happening in Gaza resulting from the continuation of the Israeli siege," he said.

Safadi said Israel allowed the entry of 40 to 50 trucks days ago from Jordan but that was "far from being sufficient" for the besieged enclave.

EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said ahead of Monday's meeting that there have been some signs of progress on Gaza aid but not enough improvement on the ground.

Israel's continued military operations and blockade have left the entire population of 2.3 million people in Gaza facing acute food insecurity, with nearly half a million at risk of famine by the end of September, a joint United Nations report said last month.