Libya: COVID-19 Forces Sabha Residents to Isolate Themselves

A worker wears a protective face mask and gloves at a factory for masks, as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus, in Misrata, Libya. (File photo: Reuters)
A worker wears a protective face mask and gloves at a factory for masks, as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus, in Misrata, Libya. (File photo: Reuters)
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Libya: COVID-19 Forces Sabha Residents to Isolate Themselves

A worker wears a protective face mask and gloves at a factory for masks, as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus, in Misrata, Libya. (File photo: Reuters)
A worker wears a protective face mask and gloves at a factory for masks, as part of precautionary measures against coronavirus, in Misrata, Libya. (File photo: Reuters)

Libya's National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) called on all citizens to remain in Sabha city until those who were in direct contact with individuals recently tested positive for COVID-19 were traced and the epidemiological situation stabilized.

The number of people infected with the COVID-19 virus in Sabha has increased Tuesday, after 10 new cases had been recorded in the city, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 168, with 52 recoveries and five deaths.

NCDC advised the residents of Sabha, south of Libya, to follow the preventative measures, including, curfew, social distancing, and rigorous adherence to personal hygiene to help stem the spread of the pandemic.

The Center indicated that its epidemiological monitoring and investigation teams as well as the rapid response teams are doing their best to track and identify cases.

It dedicated a free-of-charge emergency number for citizens who have any inquiry or suspect they have any of the virus’ symptoms.

Meanwhile, Justice Ministry of the Government of National Accord (GNA) said that the Ministry's health care unit continues to distribute a number of medical and preventive equipment to prisons and rehabilitation centers in Tripoli, including hand sterilizers and disinfectants.

The Ministry noted that these efforts aim to contain the pandemic and prevent its outbreak in prisons.

The supreme committee to combat coronavirus in the eastern region imposed a general lockdown in from 7 PM till 6 AM to help limit the spread of the virus.

The medical consultative committee said that 74 citizens left their hotel in Benghazi after 14 days of quarantine.

On Tuesday, the US Embassy in Libya announced that the US government has committed an additional $6.5 million in support of Libya’s COVID-19 response, which include helping municipalities formalize their crisis response functions, develop emergency management plans, and train teams in crisis emergency response.

The embassy noted that this additional support will also help to expand public awareness and provide assistance to migrants and refugees in Libya during the pandemic.

“The US Government continues to support Libya’s response to COVID-19, totaling over $12 million in assistance committed since the beginning of the outbreak.”



ISIS Claims Responsibility for Attack on Police Camp in Syria’s Raqqa

Syrian security forces are seen in Hasakeh. (SANA file)
Syrian security forces are seen in Hasakeh. (SANA file)
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ISIS Claims Responsibility for Attack on Police Camp in Syria’s Raqqa

Syrian security forces are seen in Hasakeh. (SANA file)
Syrian security forces are seen in Hasakeh. (SANA file)

The ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack on a Syrian interior ministry camp in ‌the ‌city of ‌Raqqa ⁠that killed one ⁠member of the security personnel a day earlier.

Syria's Interior Ministry ⁠said on ‌Monday that ‌one of ‌its security personnel ‌had been killed as its forces thwarted ‌an attack by two ISIS militants ⁠on ⁠a command headquarters of the country's internal security forces in Raqqa.


Israeli Military Takes More Territory, Kills Two People in Gaza, Medics and Witnesses Say

 Palestinians make their way past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive as displaced people shelter in tents, in Gaza City, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive as displaced people shelter in tents, in Gaza City, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Takes More Territory, Kills Two People in Gaza, Medics and Witnesses Say

 Palestinians make their way past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive as displaced people shelter in tents, in Gaza City, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the Israeli offensive as displaced people shelter in tents, in Gaza City, June 15, 2026. (Reuters)

An Israeli ‌strike killed at least two Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip, health officials said, as residents of an area in the north of the enclave fled their homes after Israeli forces expanded their control in the territory.

Medics said an Israeli strike near a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in the central Gaza Strip, killed two brothers, Ahmed and Mahmoud Abu Heen. The Israeli military did not immediately comment.

An October 2025 truce brokered by US President Donald Trump has so far failed to halt Israeli attacks in Gaza or to secure the disarmament of the Hamas group.

The new deaths brought to nearly 1,000 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire since October, according to the Gaza health ministry. Israel says four of its soldiers have been ‌killed by fighters ‌in that period.

The violence comes as Nickolay Mladenov, Trump's ‌Board ⁠of Peace envoy for ⁠Gaza, arrived in Cairo to pursue talks that mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Türkiye have held with Hamas leaders over implementing the second phase of Trump's Gaza plan, sources close to the talks said.

Israel and Hamas remain deadlocked over how to proceed with the next stage of Trump's Gaza plan, which involves Hamas laying down its arms and Israeli withdrawals.

ISRAEL TAKES MORE GAZA LAND

Israeli troops still control more than 60% of Gaza's territory, where they have ordered residents out ⁠and destroyed remaining buildings.

On May 28, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed ‌that he had directed Israel's military to expand its ‌hold and take control of 70% of the enclave.

Witnesses in southern Gaza have said Israeli forces ‌have in the past few days expanded the "Yellow Zone" - the areas they control - in eastern ‌Khan Younis and northern Rafah, where new markers and concrete blocks have been placed.

On Sunday, Israeli forces sent tanks further into the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City in the north, forcing several families to flee. Reuters footage, taken on Monday, showed two yellow blocks used as boundary markers that had been moved ‌closer to houses.

"I swear we don't know where to go," said Umm Muhammad Junaynah, a resident of Al-Tuffah, as she struggled ⁠to hold back tears. "We ⁠are getting our furniture out, we don't know where to go. We don't know where to go, we have nowhere to go."

Nearly the entire population of 2 million people, most of whom have been displaced several times, now live in a tiny strip of land along the coast, mainly in makeshift tents or damaged buildings, under Hamas control.

"It was a night of terror, we were scared," said Nour Shabat, a 27-year-old woman, referring to events of Sunday night in Al-Tuffah.

The territory has been bombarded to ruins by Israel's two-year military assault that followed the 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israel.

"I'm tired of displacement, honestly I'm tired of displacement. What is our fault that this is happening to us?" said Shabat.

"Should I take my belongings, myself and go sleep in the street? I have slept in the streets many times and I have been displaced many times. I'm tired and can't handle anymore. Enough, I am tired."


Israeli Drone Strikes Kill at Least 4 in Southern Lebanon

A photograph shows destroyed buildings in the southern village of Srifa on June 16, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows destroyed buildings in the southern village of Srifa on June 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Drone Strikes Kill at Least 4 in Southern Lebanon

A photograph shows destroyed buildings in the southern village of Srifa on June 16, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows destroyed buildings in the southern village of Srifa on June 16, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli drone strikes targeted three vehicles in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding ‌others, Lebanon's ‌National News ‌Agency reported.

Two ⁠people were killed ⁠in a double-tap strike, with a drone hitting a car ⁠in the village ‌of ‌Mayfadoun followed ‌by a second strike ‌after people had gathered at the scene.

Another drone ‌strike on the town of ⁠Shoukin ⁠killed two other people, the agency said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the reported strikes.