Williams: Libya War Escalation is Straining ‘Decimated’ Health System

FILE PHOTO: Damage is seen after shells fell on a residential area, in Abu Slim district south of Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Damage is seen after shells fell on a residential area, in Abu Slim district south of Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo
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Williams: Libya War Escalation is Straining ‘Decimated’ Health System

FILE PHOTO: Damage is seen after shells fell on a residential area, in Abu Slim district south of Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Damage is seen after shells fell on a residential area, in Abu Slim district south of Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo

An escalation in Libya’s war is straining the country’s ability to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the acting United Nations envoy said, as foreign powers intervening continue to flout an arms embargo.

“It’s incredibly reckless. It’s inhumane, it’s stretching the capacity of local authorities and the health infrastructure that is already decimated,” Stephanie Williams told Bloomberg in an interview. “And they’re whistling past the graveyard, that’s what they’re doing.”

The intensified fighting has closed down one of Tripoli’s largest hospitals, which came under three days of shelling as the country reported at least 24 cases of coronavirus infections. It also followed the announcement of a humanitarian truce between the Government of National Accord in Tripoli and Libyan Army leader Khalifa Haftar, who has launched an offensive to take the capital.

“Every call for a truce, even when it’s accepted by both sides, seems to inevitably lead to an escalation, both by the parties on the ground but also foreign sponsors,” Williams said.

Over the past few weeks, drone strikes in support of the GNA in the capital, which is backed primarily by Turkey, have intensified, destroying a command center and killing one of Haftar’s top commanders, while also targeting supply convoys.



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.