Libya on Verge of New Round of Fighting

A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)
A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)
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Libya on Verge of New Round of Fighting

A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)
A school damaged during fighting between rival factions in Tripoli, Libya, on November 19, 2020. (AFP)

Despite international and regional efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Libya, Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar continued to amass his forces, amid assertions from a Government of National Accord (GNA) commander that its troops were prepared for war.

LNA media said on Thursday that its 73rd infantry unit was preparing its forces and tanks to carry out Haftar’s orders.

Moreover, a military commander said that “colonial forces” – meaning Turkey – and their backers “of traitors and mercenary agents” were operating in western Libya, where the LNA is based.

He urged the army to remain on constant alert and “take advantage of every moment to prepare and wait for further instructions.”

The LNA also announced that it was recruiting new members to its 106th brigade.

Meanwhile, a commander from the GNA’s Sirte and al-Jufra operations command center said the forces were “fully” prepared to fight, warning that Haftar’s troops may attack at any moment.

He added that the war was still ongoing, revealing that the GNA forces were preparing for the worst.

He accused the LNA of continuing to bring in more weapons and mercenaries to the Sirte and Jufra areas, saying the GNA has detected its military activity.

Moreover, he said that the reopening of the coastal road that links western and eastern Libya hinges on the withdrawal of mercenaries and the removal of landmines.

Separately, deputy chief of the GNA’s Presidential Council, Ahmed Maiteeq was in Moscow for talks with Russian Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov.

The officials agreed to reactivate agreements that have been suspended since 2008. They cover the areas of energy, electricity, health and basic infrastructure.

Maiteeq also held talks with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the latest efforts to reach a settlement in Libya.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in Libya condemned the fighting that erupted between pro-GNA militias in Tripoli on Thursday.

“Military posturing and violence by armed groups, such as we have seen in Tripoli (…) are incompatible with the Libyan people’s aspirations for change,” it said in a briefing before the United Nations Security Council.

“There is a viable path to end the Libya conflict and prepare for elections this year,” it stressed.

Acting UN envoy to Libya Stephanie Williams said before the Council that the ceasefire signed in Geneva on October 23 “continues to be observed and that the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) remains active. The professionalism and selfless commitment of its members is exemplary.

“The JMC reiterated in a public statement the need for the immediate repatriation of all mercenaries and foreign fighter from the entire Libyan territories.

“I welcome the JMC’s determination, though I am concerned by continued fortifications and defensive positions created by the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF) inside Gardabiya Airbase in Sirte and along the Sirte-Jufra axis in central Libya. Air cargo activities continued with flights reaching Libya’s western region and GNA military bases and airbases. In the southern region, there was an increase in assets and activities in the airbases seemingly aimed at strengthening LAAF presence and control. These activities undermine the 5+5 process,” she warned in her final briefing before the end of her mission.

She called on the GNA and LNA to “fully assume their responsibilities and fully implement the ceasefire agreement.”



Hamas Fires at Tel Aviv in First Riposte to Deadly Israel Assault

Palestinians gather around bodies outside the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza - AFP
Palestinians gather around bodies outside the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza - AFP
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Hamas Fires at Tel Aviv in First Riposte to Deadly Israel Assault

Palestinians gather around bodies outside the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza - AFP
Palestinians gather around bodies outside the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza - AFP

Hamas said it fired rockets at Israeli commercial hub Tel Aviv on Thursday in its first military response to the growing civilian death toll from Israel's resumption of air and ground operations in Gaza.

Israel said it had closed off the territory's main north-south route as troops expanded the ground operations they resumed on Wednesday.

Gaza's civil defense agency said 504 people had been killed so far in the Israeli assault, including more than 190 children. Its previous death toll was at least 470.

The armed wing of Hamas, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said it fired rockets at Tel Aviv in response to Israel's "massacres" of Gaza civilians.
The Israeli army said it intercepted one projectile fired from Gaza and that two others struck an uninhabited area, AFP reportd.

After weeks of stalemate, Israel resumed its air campaign early Tuesday with a wave of deadly strikes that drew widespread condemnation.

The offensive shattered a relative calm that had pervaded in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory since a ceasefire took hold on January 19.

At the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, grieving families knelt by the bodies of their loved ones enveloped in blood-stained white shrouds.

"We want a ceasefire! We want a ceasefire!" one of them, Mohammed Hussein, told AFPTV, appealing for the international community to stop the killing.

"We are defenceless Palestinian people," he added.

On Thursday, the Israeli army banned traffic on the territory's main north-south artery.

Palestinians were seen fleeing south along Salaheddin Road near the Nusseirat refugee camp atop donkey-drawn carts piled high with belongings.

"Over the past 24 hours, Israeli soldiers have begun a targeted ground operation in the central and southern Gaza Strip in order to expand the security zone between the northern and southern parts," army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X.

Movement along Salaheddin Road between the north and south of the Gaza Strip is prohibited "for your safety", he said.

"Instead, travel from northern Gaza to the south is possible via the Al-Rashid coastal road," Adraee added, without spelling out whether that meant movement from south to north was banned.

Asked by AFP for clarification, the army had no immediate comment.

- 'Inhumane ordeals' -

An official from Gaza's Hamas-run interior ministry said the Israeli army had closed what it calls Netzarim Junction, on Salaheddin Road just south of Gaza City, on Wednesday evening.

The official said Israeli tanks had deployed at the junction, where the road artery crosses Israel's main supply route, "following the withdrawal of American special security forces yesterday (Wednesday) morning".

He was referring to American private security contractors deployed in February after the pullback of Israeli forces under the terms of the January ceasefire.

The first stage of the ceasefire expired early this month amid deadlock over next steps.

Israel rejected negotiations for a promised second stage, calling instead for the return of all of its remaining hostages under an extended first stage.

That would have meant delaying talks on a lasting ceasefire, and was rejected by Hamas as an attempt to renegotiate the original deal.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Thursday deplored "an endless unleashing of the most inhumane ordeals" on the people of Gaza since Israel resumed its military offensive.

"Israeli Forces bombardment continues from air & sea for the third day," Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X. "Under our daily watch, people in Gaza are again & again going through their worst nightmare."