Libyan National Army Warns of Qatari, Turkish Moves in Tunisia

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)
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Libyan National Army Warns of Qatari, Turkish Moves in Tunisia

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, Libya April 13, 2020. (Reuters)

The Libyan National Army (LNA) questioned a recent statement by the Turkish foreign ministry that threatened to attack the military should it target Ankara's interests in Libya.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said the Turkish statement is "misleading because Ankara has been fighting the army since 2014 through its proxies in Libya."

It wasn't up until recently that it became directly involved in the fight, he noted in televised remarks on Sunday.

On the ground, he revealed that the militias that are loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) have retreated somewhat in Tripoli, but they continue to amass their forces near the Okba Ibn Nafa Air Basein al-Watiya.

Mismari also expressed his concern over the growing number of Turkish and Qatari flights landing in regions close to Libyan-Tunisian border.

He said that the activity is part of efforts to set up an administration for the Turks, Qataris and Muslim Brotherhood that are allied with Rached al-Ghannouchi, the Tunisian parliament speaker and founder of the Islamist Ennahda party.

Separately, Mismari criticized the United Nations mission in Libya, accusing it of being biased towards the GNA.

He said the mission "sees and hears with one eye and one ear."

The mission had accused last week the LNA of striking civilian neighborhoods in Tripoli.

On the latest developments in the fighting, a prominent official in the LNA told Asharq Al-Awsat that the military has inched closer to capturing Tripoli.

He revealed that the forces have seized new areas in the southern suburbs of the capital and made progress in the Abou Slim district, forcing the militias to retreat to the Watiya.

The official refused to disclose further details, simply adding: "God willing the coming days will bring many good news."

"Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan will be the most pleased with them," he added sarcastically in reference to the Turkish leader's recent remarks that "good news" will come in from Libya after his forces recently offered military and logistic support to the GNA.



Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 31 in Gaza as UN Agencies Warn of Fuel Crisis

 Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 31 in Gaza as UN Agencies Warn of Fuel Crisis

 Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians wait to receive food from a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Gaza City, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals, as UN agencies warned on Monday that critical fuel shortages put hospitals and other critical infrastructure at risk.

The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release.

Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital's director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia.

Al-Awda Hospital reported seven killed and 11 wounded in strikes in central Gaza.

The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas.

Separately, three Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Gaza, according to the military. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said on Monday that they died in an explosion in their tank, apparently after it was hit by an anti-tank missile, though the incident was still being examined.

UN agencies, including those providing food and health care, reiterated a warning made at the weekend that without adequate fuel, they "will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely."

In a joint statement, they said that hospitals are already going dark and ambulances can no longer move. Without fuel, transport, water production, sanitation and telecommunications will shut down and bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate, they said.

The agencies confirmed that some 150,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza last week - the first delivery in 130 days. But they said it is "a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running."

"The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations," they said.

The agencies signing the statement were the UN humanitarian office OCHA, food agency WFP, health organization WHO, children's agency UNICEF, the agency helping Palestinian refugees UNRWA, population agency UNFPA, development agency UNDP, and UNOPS which oversees procurement and provides management services.

Israel's military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, a senior Hamas fighter who it said had taken part in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war.

There was no comment from Hamas and no independent confirmation.

Thousands of Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The fighters are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and fighters in its tally.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties.

Israel's air and ground war has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.

Israel's Knesset meanwhile voted to expel a prominent Arab lawmaker, but the measure failed to pass the threshold of 90 votes in the 120-member assembly. Seventy-three members voted in favor.

The attempt to remove Ayman Odeh from parliament was related to a social media post in January in which he welcomed the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in a Gaza ceasefire.

The prisoners released in the agreement included scores of fighters convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis, and rival lawmakers accused Odeh of supporting terror, allegations he denied. Many Palestinians view those imprisoned by Israel as freedom fighters jailed for resisting Israel's decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for a future state.

Israel's Arab minority, which makes up some 20% of the population, has citizenship, including the right to vote, but faces widespread discrimination. Its members have close family ties to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and largely support their cause, leading many Jewish Israelis to view them with suspicion or contempt.