Libya’s GNA Seizes Another Town

Damage is seen following shelling at Tripoli's Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Damage is seen following shelling at Tripoli's Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
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Libya’s GNA Seizes Another Town

Damage is seen following shelling at Tripoli's Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
Damage is seen following shelling at Tripoli's Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Libya May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

Forces allied with Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) said on Thursday that they have wrestled another key town from the Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar.

Mohamed Gnono, spokesman for the Tripoli-allied forces, announced in a statement posted on social media the fall of the town of al-Asabaa, about 50 kilometers south of Tripoli.

Al-Asabaa is located on a key road that links Haftar's forces besieging Tripoli to Tarhuna, their main western stronghold and supply line southeast of the capital.

On Monday, the GNA of Fayez al-Sarraj seized al-Watiya airbase in Tripoli's southwestern desert reaches.

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari reiterated that there were 1,500 Turkish military personnel on Libyan soil, fighting on behalf of the GNA.

“The battle is continuing against terrorism, against the Turkish and against the extremists,” he said at a news conference on Thursday.

Turkey has sent armored drones, air defenses and more recently Syrian militants with links to extremist groups to prop up the GNA.

On Wednesday, Haftar’s forces announced they would withdraw up to 3 kilometers from the front line around Tripoli in a humanitarian gesture aimed at giving the residents a respite from the fighting to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that Sergei Lavrov had a call with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavudoglu, and that they underlined the need for an immediate ceasefire in Libya and the resumption of a political process based on decisions made at a conference in Berlin earlier this year.

Turkey warned that attacks on its interests in Libya by Haftar's forces will have "very grave consequences.”

"In the event Turkish interests in Libya are targeted, this will have very grave consequences," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin was quoted as saying by broadcaster NTV that attacks on Turkish positions would prompt heavy retaliation.



Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Clerics Accuse West Bank Israeli Settlers of Attacking Christian Sites

Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa walks during the visit of the town of Taybeh, a Christian village in the Israeli-Occupied West Bank, following settler attacks, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Christian leaders accused Israeli settlers on Monday of attacking sacred sites in the West Bank, in violence that one said was forcing some to consider quitting the occupied territory.

The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, Theophilos III - visiting the Christian town of Taybeh with other Jerusalem-based clerics - said settlers had started a fire near a cemetery and a 5th century church there last week.

"These actions are a direct and intentional threat to our local community ... but also to the historic and religious heritage," the patriarch told diplomats and journalists at a press conference in Taybeh.

Settlers had also attacked homes in the area, he said.

"We call for an immediate and transparent investigation on why the Israeli police did not respond to emergency calls from the local community and why these abhorrent actions continue to go unpunished," he added.

Israel's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Israel's government had previously said that any acts of violence by civilians are unacceptable and that individuals should not take the law into their own hands.

During the visit, the heads of the churches led locals in prayer as candles flickered in the ruins of the 5th century church of St George. They spoke with residents who described their fears.

B'Tselem and other rights groups say settler violence in the West Bank has risen since the start of Israel's war against Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza in late 2023.

Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in Palestinian street attacks in recent years and the Israeli military has intensified raids across the West Bank.

Palestinian health authorities and witnesses said two men, including a US citizen, were killed by settlers during a confrontation on Friday night.

Fears over violence were pushing Christians to leave the West Bank, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem since 2020, said.

"Unfortunately, the temptation to emigrate is there because of the situation," he added. "This time it's very difficult to see how and when this will finish, and especially for the youth to talk about hope, trust for the future."

Around 50,000 Christian Palestinians live in Jerusalem and in the West Bank, an area that includes many of the faith's most sacred sites including Bethlehem where believers say Jesus was born.

Around 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, territories Israel captured from Jordan in the 1967 war, which Palestinians see as part of a future state.