LNA, Presidential Council, UN Discuss Efforts to Unify Libyan Army

UN envoy Jan Kubis (L), LNA chief Haftar (C) and Vice President of the Presidential Council, al-Kouni meet on Saturday.
UN envoy Jan Kubis (L), LNA chief Haftar (C) and Vice President of the Presidential Council, al-Kouni meet on Saturday.
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LNA, Presidential Council, UN Discuss Efforts to Unify Libyan Army

UN envoy Jan Kubis (L), LNA chief Haftar (C) and Vice President of the Presidential Council, al-Kouni meet on Saturday.
UN envoy Jan Kubis (L), LNA chief Haftar (C) and Vice President of the Presidential Council, al-Kouni meet on Saturday.

Vice President of the Presidential Council, Moussa al-Kouni held talks with Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar on efforts to unify the military in eastern and western Libya.

The meeting on Sunday night was attended by head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Jan Kubis.

Al-Kouni said the meeting followed up on previous discussions on the unification of state institutions and the army.

Haftar’s office issued a brief statement confirming that the meeting was held at the General Command’s headquarters in al-Rajma near the eastern city of Benghazi. It did not provide further details.

On Sunday, al-Kouni and head of the Presidential Council, Mohammed al-Menfi, toured the eastern city of Tobruk without their security guards.

Menfi had kicked off on Saturday a visit to Derna city, the first by a high-ranking official since the February 17 revolution.

He met with senor officials, elders and civilian and military leaderships to discuss several pending issues, such as the return of the displaced and national reconciliation.

In a statement, he vowed to support the city in all fields, in coordination with the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Kubis met with Menfi in Tobruk on Sunday. They discussed ways to expedite the implementation of the ceasefire agreement in full, without any further delay with the opening of the coastal road as a necessary confidence-building step, said a UN statement.

They discussed needed steps at national and international levels to start the withdrawal process of mercenaries and foreign fighters and forces from the entirety of Libya without any delay as requested by the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, GNU chief Abdulhamid Dbeibeh held a meeting that included the finance minister and Tripoli officials to address efforts to improve the power supply to the capital.



Israel Kills 40 Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
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Israel Kills 40 Palestinians in Gaza

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli strike on the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, on July 9, 2025. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

At least 40 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip, hospital officials said Wednesday.

Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis said the dead included 17 women and 10 children. It said one strike killed 10 people from the same family, including three children.

The Israeli military did not comment on specific strikes, but said it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza over the past day, including militants, booby-trapped structures, weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and tunnels.

The war started after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Most of the hostages have been released in earlier ceasefires.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.