UNSMIL Calls for Containing Military Tensions in Libya

A bus travels towards Tripoli by the newly-reopened coastal road which was cut between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, near Ras Lanuf, Libya August 10, 2021. (Reuters)
A bus travels towards Tripoli by the newly-reopened coastal road which was cut between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, near Ras Lanuf, Libya August 10, 2021. (Reuters)
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UNSMIL Calls for Containing Military Tensions in Libya

A bus travels towards Tripoli by the newly-reopened coastal road which was cut between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, near Ras Lanuf, Libya August 10, 2021. (Reuters)
A bus travels towards Tripoli by the newly-reopened coastal road which was cut between the cities of Misrata and Sirte, near Ras Lanuf, Libya August 10, 2021. (Reuters)

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) called on all parties in Libya “to refrain from any mobilization or deployment of security elements and troops that may be perceived as an escalation.”

Several political, military, and security parties that are loyal to the transitional authority denounced a recent demand by the Joint Military Committee (JMC) for the suspension of agreements signed by Libya with other countries.

UNSMIL urged all parties “to respect the lines of demarcation as they were at the time of the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement.”

The statement further added, “UNSMIL renews its support to the efforts of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission aimed at maintaining calm and stability.”

“The Mission renews its call to all concerned national and international actors to ensure, respect, and support the full implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement, in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions,” it continued.

Meanwhile, head of the Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid Dbeibeh stressed during a surprise meeting on Wednesday with several members of the military committee the need for coordination over decisions to ensure that they are in line with the government’s plan.

He reiterated the Defense Ministry’s support for the efforts of the JMC that led to the reopening of the coastal road, confirming that they are following up closely on the committee's work while emphasizing the importance of coordination with the Ministry of Interior to secure the road.

The Libyan Presidential Council, headed by Mohammed al-Menfi, demanded that a minister of defense should be appointed soon to unify the military. Dbeibeh currently acts as defense minister in his capacity as head of the government.

Spokesperson of the Council, Najwa Wahiba said on Wednesday that the council, in its capacity as chief commander of the army, reiterated its willingness to unify the military and support national reconciliation to pave the way for the elections in December.



Hamas Official Says Group ‘Appreciates’ Lebanon’s Right to Reach Agreement

 A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
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Hamas Official Says Group ‘Appreciates’ Lebanon’s Right to Reach Agreement

 A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)
A man walks next to a destroyed building in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 27, 2024, as people returned to the area to check their homes after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect. (AFP)

Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Wednesday the group "appreciates" Lebanon's right to reach an agreement that protects its people and it hopes for a deal to end the war in Gaza.

A ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement came into effect on Wednesday after both sides accepted an agreement brokered by the United States and France, but international efforts to halt the 14-month-old war between Hamas and Israel in the Palestinian territory of Gaza have stalled.

"Hamas appreciates the right of Lebanon and Hezbollah to reach an agreement that protects the people of Lebanon and we hope that this agreement will pave the way to reaching an agreement that ends the war of genocide against our people in Gaza," Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

Later on Wednesday, the group said in a statement it was open to efforts to secure a deal in Gaza, reiterating its outstanding conditions.

"We are committed to cooperating with any effort to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and we are interested in ending the aggression against our people," Hamas said.

It added that an agreement must end the war, pull Israeli forces out of Gaza, return displaced Gazans to their homes, and achieve a hostages-for-prisoners swap deal.

Without a similar deal in Gaza, many residents said they felt abandoned. In the latest violence, Israeli military strikes across the Gaza Strip killed 15 people on Wednesday, some of them in a school housing displaced people, medics there said.

Months of attempts to negotiate a ceasefire have yielded scant progress and negotiations are now on hold, with mediator Qatar saying it has told the two warring parties it would suspend its efforts until the sides are prepared to make concessions.

Abu Zuhri blamed the failure to reach a ceasefire deal that would end the Gaza war on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly accused Hamas of foiling efforts.

"Hamas showed high flexibility to reach an agreement and it is still committed to that position and is interested in reaching an agreement that ends the war in Gaza," Abu Zuhri said.

"The problem was always with Netanyahu who has always escaped from reaching an agreement," he added.

Hamas wants an agreement that ends the war in Gaza and sees the release of Israeli and foreign hostages as well as Palestinians jailed by Israel, while Netanyahu has said the war can only end after Hamas is eradicated.

In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, senior Palestinian Authority Hussein Al-Sheikh welcomed the agreement in Lebanon.

"We welcome the decision to ceasefire in Lebanon, and we call on the international community to pressure Israel to stop its criminal war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and to stop all its escalatory measures against the Palestinian people," Sheikh, a confidant of President Mahmoud Abbas, posted on X.

US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday his administration was pushing for a ceasefire in Gaza.