Revenge Using ISIS-Style Executions Intimidates Libyans

People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)
People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)
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Revenge Using ISIS-Style Executions Intimidates Libyans

People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)
People walk near a puddle of water mixed with blood at the site of twin car bombs in Benghazi that resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, Libya, January 24, 2018. (Reuters)

Rage and fear spread among Libyans after the escalation of “attacks of vengeance for detainees and civilians” after three men were shot dead in Derna in murders that were reminiscent of those committed by the ISIS terrorist group.

They were killed in retaliation to commander from the Libyan National Army forces (LNA) Mahmoud al-Werfalli’s alleged killing of 10 people in front of the Radwan mosque in the city of Benghazi. Some citizens said that five bodies were found in a trash dumpster on the side of a road in Benghazi. There has been no official confirmation or denial of the discovery.

Derna residents decried the so-called pro-Qaeda Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna for killing the three men on Thursday on charges of cooperating with the LNA.

Member of the High Council of State Mansour al-Hasadi called for putting an end to executions outside the law, denouncing their execution without a fair trial.

“Killing without a trial is forbidden and criminal. It is a violation of the most basic human rights. It is rejected regardless of the reasons or justifications,” he added, while condemning terrorism.

He stated to Asharq Al-Awsat that these murders would fracture the social fabric and increase chaos, which would affect any opportunity for stability in Libya.

LNA forces are besieging Derna, which is held by the Shura Council of Mujahideen in Derna.

A local official reported to Asharq Al-Awsat that these practices are rejected. “ISIS-style revenge killings have become a danger to us,” he added.

The National Human Rights Committee – Libya considered in a statement on Friday that the collective field executions of prisoners and detainees suspected of belonging to terrorist organizations without revealing their identities, reasons behind arresting them and investigations results, are a crime similar to those committed by ISIS.



Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
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Trump, Netanyahu Meet Again as Gaps Said to Narrow in Gaza Ceasefire Talks

07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)
07 July 2025, US, Washington: US President Donald Trump receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak privately in the Vermeil Room before a dinner at the White House. (Daniel Torok/White House/dpa)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday met for a second time in two days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss Gaza as Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal.

Netanyahu arrived at the White House shortly before 5 p.m. EDT for a meeting that was not expected to be open to the press. The two men met for several hours during a dinner at the White House on Monday during the Israeli leader's third US visit since the president began his second term on January 20.

Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance and then visited the US Capitol on Tuesday. He told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel's campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire.

"We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas' military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu's return to the White House to see Trump on Tuesday pushed back his meeting with US Senate leaders to Wednesday.

Shortly after Netanyahu spoke, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week.

"We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we'll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released," Witkoff told reporters at a meeting of Trump's Cabinet.

The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.

Trump had strongly supported Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics by criticizing prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Netanyahu denies.

In his remarks to reporters at the US Congress, Netanyahu praised Trump, saying there has never been closer coordination between the US and Israel in his country's history.