EU to Discuss Developments in Libya

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference during the Southern EU Countries summit at Filoxenia Conference centre in Nicosia, Cyprus January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference during the Southern EU Countries summit at Filoxenia Conference centre in Nicosia, Cyprus January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
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EU to Discuss Developments in Libya

High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference during the Southern EU Countries summit at Filoxenia Conference centre in Nicosia, Cyprus January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo
High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a news conference during the Southern EU Countries summit at Filoxenia Conference centre in Nicosia, Cyprus January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou/File Photo

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe said that foreign ministers will discuss Monday Libya developments and highlight the political solution for the crisis. The European Union (EU) will also host on the 23rd of July a meeting for high-rank officials to discuss the ceasefire in the country.

In his statement before the United Nations Security Council, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that the EU will host in the last week of this month a meeting for the International Follow-up Committee on Libya (IFCL).

“As European Union, we believe it is high time to put an end to this military conflict. This meeting brings together all countries which have the capacity, if genuinely committed, to contribute to a political transition in Libya. We all took strong commitments in the Berlin conference in January; it is now time to translate our words into concrete actions. We need to work collectively, under a strong United Nations leadership, to implement truly the conclusions of Berlin, which everybody accepted,” he said.

“The polarization, which has turned Libya into a theater of proxy wars, needs to stop. Actions in support of one or the other Libyan party fuel the conflict, and some constitute clear provocations. We must go back to our Berlin-commitments, starting with the enforcement of the United Nations arms embargo, which unfortunately continues to be violated on all sides and every day, in all impunity,” Borrell added.

“We need a collective effort to favor the return of the Libyan parties to the negotiating table, starting with the UN-led 5+5 military talks to reach an agreement on a sustainable ceasefire.”

Moreover, European Union foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that the success of Operation Irini in implementing the UN arms’ embargo in Libya would be an opportunity to stop the fight.

Amid the ongoing escalation between both parties, the situation has worsened, he added.



US-Backed Gaza Aid Group Says All Aid Distribution Sites Are Closed

Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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US-Backed Gaza Aid Group Says All Aid Distribution Sites Are Closed

Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Displaced Palestinians walk along a road to receive humanitarian aid packages from a US-backed foundation in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 5, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

A US- and Israeli-backed group handing out aid in Gaza said on Friday all its distribution sites were closed until further notice, urging residents to stay away from these venues "for their safety" after a series of deadly shootings.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which last week started handing out meals to hungry Palestinians inside the war-shattered Gaza Strip, said that a reopening date would be announced later.

The GHF opened two sites in southern Gaza on Thursday after closing all of its centers the previous day in the wake of shootings in the vicinity of its operations. It has so far operated four distribution centers.

The organization bypasses traditional relief agencies and has been criticized by humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations, for alleged lack of neutrality, which it denies, Reuters reported.

GHF halted distributions on Wednesday and said it was pressing Israeli forces to improve civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its operations after dozens of Palestinians were shot dead near the Rafah site over three consecutive days.

The Israeli military said on Sunday and Monday that its soldiers had fired warning shots. On Tuesday, it said, forces also fired warning shots before firing towards Palestinians that it said were advancing towards troops. GHF has said that aid was safely handed out from its sites without any incident.

Israel has re-intensified an offensive against Gaza's dominant Hamas militant group since breaking a two-month-old ceasefire in March in a war triggered by Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.