Germany, UN to Host Conference on Libya in Berlin on June 23

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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Germany, UN to Host Conference on Libya in Berlin on June 23

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)

Germany and the United Nations plan to host a conference on Libya in Berlin on June 23, a gathering that aims to bring together powers with interests in the North African country and its transitional government.

The agenda will include discussions for preparations for elections in December and the withdrawal of foreign forces.

The meeting, announced on Tuesday, will take place at the level of foreign ministers and follows up on a first Berlin conference held in January 2020 at which leaders agreed to respect an arms embargo and push Libya’s warring parties to reach a full ceasefire. Germany has been trying to act as an intermediary.

The countries that have been involved in the process include the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with Italy, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

The Berlin conference will mark the first time that the Libyan transitional Government of National Unity (GNU) is represented at such an event, the German foreign ministry said in a statement.

It will “take stock of progress” since the first Berlin gathering and discuss “the next steps needed for a sustainable stabilization,” it added.

“The main focus will be on preparations for the national elections scheduled for Dec. 24 and on the withdrawal of foreign troops and mercenaries from Libya as agreed in the ceasefire,” the ministry statement said. “In addition, steps towards the creation of unified Libyan security forces will be discussed.”

An October ceasefire agreement that included a demand that all foreign fighters and mercenaries leave Libya within 90 days led to a deal on the transitional government and December elections. The GNU took office in February.

“It has been a very long process in which we often weren't sure ourselves whether the aims we set could be achieved,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told reporters in Berlin, speaking of the agreement.

“But after the developments in recent months, we are cautiously optimistic,” Maas said. He added that it “makes sense” to hold the new conference “to ensure that the path we have embarked on in Libya is continued, that elections take place and that in the foreseeable future there are no longer any foreign forces in Libya.”



Netanyahu Says Significant Progress Made in Talks to Release Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)
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Netanyahu Says Significant Progress Made in Talks to Release Hostages

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a ceremony on the eve of Israel's Remembrance Day at the Yad LaBanim Memorial in Jerusalem, on April 29, 2025. (AP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that there had been "significant progress" in efforts to secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza, but that it was "too soon" to raise hopes that a deal would be reached.

Despite efforts by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to restore a ceasefire in Gaza, neither Israel nor Hamas has shown willingness to back down on core demands, with each side blaming the other for the failure to reach a deal.

Netanyahu, who has come under pressure from within his right-wing coalition to continue the war and block humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, said in a video statement shared by his office that there had been progress, without providing details.

A source familiar with the negotiations said that Washington had been giving Hamas more assurances, in the form of steps that would lead to an end to the war, but said it was US officials who were optimistic, not Israeli ones. The source said there was pressure from Washington to have a deal done as soon as possible.

The White House National Security Council and representatives for US envoy Steve Witkoff, who is leading US efforts in the ceasefire talks, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Neither did Hamas representatives.

Israel's leadership has said that it would wage war until the remaining 55 hostages held in Gaza are freed and when Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war, has been dismantled.

Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, has said it would no longer govern after the war if a Palestinian, non-partisan technocratic committee took over, but it has refused to disarm.

The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israel said it would abide by the terms, but Hamas has sought amendments. The group has said that it would release all hostages in exchange for a permanent end to the war.

The war in Gaza has raged since Hamas-led gunmen killed 1,200 people in Israel in the October 2023 attack and took 251 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.