War of Words Escalates Between Two Conflicting Parties in Libya

LNA Commander Marshal Khalifa Haftar during a ceremony in central Benghazi to mark the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence (Reuters)
LNA Commander Marshal Khalifa Haftar during a ceremony in central Benghazi to mark the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence (Reuters)
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War of Words Escalates Between Two Conflicting Parties in Libya

LNA Commander Marshal Khalifa Haftar during a ceremony in central Benghazi to mark the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence (Reuters)
LNA Commander Marshal Khalifa Haftar during a ceremony in central Benghazi to mark the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence (Reuters)

A war of words has escalated between Libya’s two conflicting parties, threatening the recent United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)-sponsored ceasefire agreement.

Regional and international parties have contacted Libyan National Army (LNA) Commander Marshal Khalifa Haftar and Head of the Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj to urge them to halt this escalation that threatens the collapse of a truce concluded in October, according to Libyan sources.

“US and international pressures aim to defuse the crisis and stop the mutual media war to secure the atmosphere for a decisive meeting of the Joint Military Committee, known as (5 + 5),” sources explained.

Military officials from both sides said their forces have received military reinforcements over the past hours and have taken combat positions along the lines of contact in the vicinity of Sirte and al-Jufra cities.

This amassing of forces means confrontation is nearing despite their commitment to the fragile ceasefire, they added.

Haftar’s remarks during the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence and replies by GNA-affiliated military officials threatened the return of war.

In his statements, Haftar called on his fighters to “drive out” Turkish forces backing the UN-recognized government.

“There will be no peace in the presence of a colonizer on our land,” he said on Thursday.

“We will therefore take up arms again to fashion our peace with our own hands... and, since Turkey rejects peace and opts for war, prepare to drive out the occupier by faith, will, and weapons,” he stressed.

He noted that the international community did not stop the aggressors who continued to send mercenaries and weapons in a declaration of war on Libyans, in defiance to the international will and in an underestimation of human values.

Turkey thinks it will achieve its dreams of expansion and influence and its ambitions to control the oil fields and its export ports to address its collapsing economy through Libya’s wealth, Haftar stated.

He addressed the Turkish-loyal mercenaries saying firing their first bullet “means preparing for death,” stressing that all patriots shall be prepared to confront those who manipulate billions of dollars of Libyans’ money.

On Thursday, the GNA celebrated, in the presence of Turkish ambassador to Libya Sarhan Aksan, the 69th anniversary of Libya’s independence by organizing military parades in the center of the capital, Tripoli, in light of widespread security deployment.



Hamas Says It Is Investigating Possible Error over Hostage Body

 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
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Hamas Says It Is Investigating Possible Error over Hostage Body

 20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)
20 February 2025, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: Palestinian Hamas members carry one of the four coffins during the handover of the bodies of four Israeli hostages, killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, to the Red Cross in Khan Younis. (dpa)

Hamas said on Friday it was investigating a possible error in identifying human remains handed to Israel under a ceasefire deal as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened retaliation for failing to release the body of hostage Shiri Bibas.

Hamas was due to hand over the bodies of Shiri Bibas and her two sons Kfir and Ariel on Thursday, along with the remains of a fourth hostage under the ceasefire deal that has halted fighting in Gaza since last month.

Four bodies were delivered and the identities of the Bibas boys and the other hostage, Oded Lifshitz, were confirmed.

But Israeli specialists said the fourth body was that of an unidentified woman and not Bibas, who was kidnapped along with her sons and her husband, Yarden, during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Basem Naim, a member of the Hamas political bureau, said "unfortunate mistakes" could occur, especially as Israeli bombing had mixed the bodies of Israeli hostages and Palestinians, thousands of whom were still buried in the rubble.

"We confirm that it is not in our values or our interest to keep any bodies or not to abide by the covenants and agreements that we sign," he said in a statement.

Hamas said separately that it would investigate the Israeli assertions and announce the results.

The failure to hand over the body and the staged public handover of the four coffins on Thursday, caused outrage in Israel and drew a threat of retaliation from Netanyahu.

"We will act with determination to bring Shiri home along with all our hostages - both living and dead - and ensure Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and evil violation of the agreement," he said in a video statement, accusing Hamas of acting "in an unspeakably cynical manner" by placing the body of a Gaza woman in the coffin instead of Bibas.

Hamas said in November 2023 that the children and their mother had been killed in an Israeli air strike and Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said Netanyahu "bears full responsibility for killing her and her children."

But the Israeli military said intelligence assessments and forensic analysis of the bodies of the Bibas children indicated that they were deliberately killed by their captors. Chief military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said the boys were killed by the militants "with their bare hands", but gave no details.

Netanyahu gave no details of a possible Israeli response, but the incident underscored the fragility of the ceasefire agreement reached with US backing and with the help of Qatari and Egyptian mediators last month.

SATURDAY EXCHANGE

Six living hostages are due for release on Saturday in exchange for 602 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, according to Hamas, and the start of negotiations for a second phase of the ceasefire is expected in the coming days.

"Hamas must return the hostages as agreed in the ceasefire- the living and the deceased," Israeli military spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said in a statement on social media platform X. "They have to bring Shiri back, and they have to release the 6 living hostages expected tomorrow."

Netanyahu's office confirmed it had been officially informed of the names of the six hostages to be released, which Hamas sources said was expected at around 8.30 a.m. (0630 GMT).

As the tension over the Gaza ceasefire rose, Netanyahu ordered the Israeli military to intensify operations in another Palestinian territory, the occupied West Bank, after a number of explosions blew up buses standing empty in their depots near Tel Aviv.

No casualties were reported but the explosions were a reminder of the campaign of suicide attacks on public transport that killed hundreds of Israeli civilians during the Second Intifada in the early 2000s.

'THEY MAKE A JOKE OF US'

Both sides have repeatedly accused the other of ceasefire violations, with Hamas threatening to delay the release of hostages over what it said was Israel's refusal to allow housing materials and other aid into Gaza, a charge Israel denied.

"It's like they make a joke of us," said 75-year-old Ilana Caspi. "We are so in grief and this is even more, it's like you make a punch again, another one and another one, it's really terrible."

The Red Cross told Reuters it was "concerned and unsatisfied" by the fact that the handover of the bodies had not been conducted privately and in a dignified manner.

Despite the outrage over Shiri Bibas, there was no indication that Israel would not take part in talks over a second phase of the ceasefire deal.

The Israel Hayom newspaper reported that Israeli negotiators were considering seeking an extension of the 42-day ceasefire, to delay moving to a second phase, which would involve talks over hard-to-resolve issues including an end to the war and the future of Hamas in Gaza.