Arab League Chief Urges End to Military Operations in Tripoli

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab Foreign Ministers extraordinary meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis in Cairo, Egypt October 12, 2019. (Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab Foreign Ministers extraordinary meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis in Cairo, Egypt October 12, 2019. (Reuters)
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Arab League Chief Urges End to Military Operations in Tripoli

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab Foreign Ministers extraordinary meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis in Cairo, Egypt October 12, 2019. (Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit attends the Arab Foreign Ministers extraordinary meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis in Cairo, Egypt October 12, 2019. (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit renewed on Saturday his call for an end to fighting in Libya and other Arab conflict zones so that national efforts can be dedicated to the combat the coronavirus outbreak.

He urged an end to the fighting between the Libyan National Army and Government of National Accord near Tripoli.

Libya marked on Saturday one year since LNA commander Khalifa Haftar launched his operation to capture the capital from terrorist and criminal gangs aligned with the GNA.

"Silencing the guns throughout the Libyan territories is an essential condition for building the lost trust between the two warring parties,” Aboul Gheit said in a statement.

He added that the conflict has undermined peace efforts sponsored by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, left hundreds of innocent civilians dead and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents.

Aboul Gheit called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the country and urged the Libyan leadership to uphold national interests and immediately begin de-escalation on the ground. The ceasefire must eventually lead to a formal, lasting and comprehensive truce in the country.

He also stressed the league’s rejection and condemnation of all forms of foreign military interference in Libya, the repeated violations of the arms embargo imposed on the country and deployment of terrorist fighters on the ground.

“The Arab League will remain committed to standing by the Libyan people in overcoming the challenges and helping the country through the current crisis,” Aboul Gheit vowed.



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.