Libya Eases Coronavirus Restrictions, Reopens Border with Tunisia

Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)
Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)
TT

Libya Eases Coronavirus Restrictions, Reopens Border with Tunisia

Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)
Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)

Libya has started relaxing the coronavirus-related restrictions. The Government of National Unity announced that land crossings will reopen and air travel with Tunisia will resume as of Thursday.

However, it urged the people to continue to comply with preventative precautions to fight the pandemic.

Authorities stated that the epidemic situation in the country is reassuring following a decline in infections.

Official figures, however, showed that more than 2,000 cases were being recorded daily.

Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Adel Gomaa directed Minister of Transportation Muhammad Salem Al-Shahoubi and Minister of Interior Khaled Mazen to reopen the border crossings with Tunisia.

Libya closed land and air borders with its neighbor in July in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

Libya registered 2,325 coronavirus new cases and 12 deaths, said the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 289,000 and 209,000 recoveries.

Malta and Greece have respectively sent 40,000 and 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Libya. A total of 890,000 people have so far been inoculated.



Israel Carries Out Several Attacks in Southern Lebanon

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
TT

Israel Carries Out Several Attacks in Southern Lebanon

A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A picture taken from the southern Lebanese region of Marjayoun, shows the destruction in Khiam on November 28, 2024, a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)

The Israeli army carried out several attacks in southern Lebanon on Friday, the third day of the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, Lebanon’s state media said.

Artillery bombardment struck the villages of Markaba, Talusa and Khiyam while four Israeli tanks moved into the western part of Khiam, the report said, adding that an Israeli tank fired at a house in Nabatiyeh province.

Local media also reported that the Israeli army fired on civilians in the nearby village of Bint Jbeil. No casualties were immediately reported and The Associated Press was not immediately able to verify the claims.

Israel’s military said it struck an area in southern Lebanon where it detected movement of a Hezbollah rocket launcher on Friday.

In the statement on the airstrike, the military said it would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese army, which has accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire several times since it came into effect.