GNA Threatens Haftar with the ICC

Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)
Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)
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GNA Threatens Haftar with the ICC

Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)
Part of the damage to the front of the Mitiga International Airport during the fighting in Tripoli (Reuters)

Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala called on The Hague’s International Criminal Court (ICC) to take necessary measures to investigate rocket attacks on Mitiga International Airport.

Labeling the attacks a war crime, Siala accused the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Gen. Khalifa Haftar of carrying them out.

In a letter to the ICC, Siala accused LNA forces of violating international and human rights laws, killing and maiming prisoners and of attacking diplomatic missions.

In other news, the LNA boosted the number and quality of forces participating in the fight in the country’s capital, Tripoli. GNA forces, on the other hand, focused their attacks on the Okba Ibn Nafa Air Base, located west of the capital.

This is the second time in a month that the LNA dispatched reinforcements to Tripoli, where its forces have been fighting a battle to liberate the capital since April 4, 2019.

The deployment of new forces coincided with LNA Spokesman Ahmed Al-Mismari releasing a motivating voice recording to boost the morale of forces fighting on the frontlines to free Tripoli. It is the second recording in a week in which Mismari urges fighters to revolt against GNA’s Fayez al-Sarraj and Fathi Bashagha, whom he accused of treason and corruption.

Mismari also accused the GNA of selling out the country’s resources to Turkish occupation and loyalist militias.

On the ground, the battles were renewed between GNA and LNA forces on several axes inside the capital. Clashes especially erupted near the airport road south of the city.

GNA Spokesman Col.Mohammed Qanounou said that air forces targeted early Wednesday to shipments intended for LNA forces around 200 kilometers away from the capital. He also announced launching three strikes within 24 hours against LNA targets.

Local media loyal to the GNA quoted unidentified sources as saying that its forces destroyed a Russian air defense system in an air strike in the Shweref area that was on its way to Tarhuna.



Arab Leaders Promise to Work on Gaza Reconstruction, Press for Ceasefire

Arab leaders attend the opening session of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Hadi Mizban / POOL / AFP)
Arab leaders attend the opening session of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Hadi Mizban / POOL / AFP)
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Arab Leaders Promise to Work on Gaza Reconstruction, Press for Ceasefire

Arab leaders attend the opening session of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Hadi Mizban / POOL / AFP)
Arab leaders attend the opening session of the 34th Arab League summit in Baghdad on May 17, 2025. (Photo by Hadi Mizban / POOL / AFP)

Arab leaders meeting in Baghdad said Saturday that they were trying to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and promised to contribute to the reconstruction of the Palestinian’s enclave once the war stops.

In March, an emergency Arab League summit in Cairo endorsed a plan for Gaza's reconstruction without displacing its roughly 2 million residents.

Among the guests at Saturday’s summit were Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who called for the flow of aid into the besieged territory. He said that the UN rejects any “forced displacement” of Palestinians.

The “genocide” in Gaza “has reached levels of ugliness not seen in all conflicts throughout history,” Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a speech that called for allowing aid to flow into Gaza. Al-Sudani added that Iraq will work on setting up an Arab fund for the reconstruction of the region in which Baghdad will pay $20 million for Gaza and a similar amount for Lebanon.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that Egypt, in coordination with Qatar and the US, is “exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire” in Gaza, adding that the efforts led to the release of Israel-American hostage Edan Alexander. He said that Egypt plans to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza “once the aggression stops.”

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to abandon power in Gaza and along with other militant groups to hand over weapons to the Palestinian Authority.