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Libya Central Bank Governor: Oil Blockade is ‘Bullet in the Head’

FILE PHOTO: Members of forces loyal to Haftar guard near Libya's El Sharara oilfield in Obari,Libya, February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
FILE PHOTO: Members of forces loyal to Haftar guard near Libya's El Sharara oilfield in Obari,Libya, February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
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Libya Central Bank Governor: Oil Blockade is ‘Bullet in the Head’

FILE PHOTO: Members of forces loyal to Haftar guard near Libya's El Sharara oilfield in Obari,Libya, February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer
FILE PHOTO: Members of forces loyal to Haftar guard near Libya's El Sharara oilfield in Obari,Libya, February 6, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

A blockade of major Libyan oil ports is damaging the economy and must be quickly resolved, the Tripoli-based central bank governor told Reuters on Friday.

"Now oil represents 93-95 percent of total revenue and covers 70 percent of total spending. This is a bullet in the head, that will hurt Libya and the Libyan people," Sadiq al-Kabir said in an interview in London. "We really hope the crisis is resolved as fast as possible because it hurts everyone."

The head of the Government of National Accord, Fayez al-Sarraj, has warned of catastrophe if the week-long blockade by the Libyan National Army of Khalifa Haftar, which has cut oil output to almost zero, is not lifted.

Previously, oil production was 1.2 million barrels a day.

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Egypt Hosts Hamas in New Gaza Ceasefire Push, Looting Halts Aid

Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
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Egypt Hosts Hamas in New Gaza Ceasefire Push, Looting Halts Aid

Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo
Egyptian workers are seen in front of the new headquarters of Egypt's parliament in the New Administrative Capital (NAC) east of Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Hamas leaders held talks with Egyptian security officials on Sunday in a fresh push for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, two Hamas sources said, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene his security cabinet on the matter, two Israeli officials said.

The Hamas visit to Cairo was the first since the United States announced on Wednesday it would revive efforts in collaboration with Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye to negotiate a ceasefire in Gaza, that would include a hostage deal.

White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan said he thought the chances of a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza were now more likely.

"(Hamas) are isolated. Hezbollah is no longer fighting with them, and their backers in Iran and elsewhere are preoccupied with other conflicts," he told CNN on Sunday, Reuters reported.

"So I think we may have a chance to make progress, but I'm not going to predict exactly when it will happen ... we've come so close so many times and not gotten across the finish line."

Palestinians say Israel's operations on the northern edge of the enclave are part of a plan to clear people out through forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli military strongly denies this and says it is fighting against Hamas.

The military says it has killed hundreds of Hamas militants in that part of Gaza as it fights to stop the faction regrouping. It has also lost around 30 soldiers there in combat with Hamas fighters over the past two months, a relatively high death toll.