Merkel stresses to Menfi Need for Foreign Forces, Mercenaries to Quit Libya

Merkel and Menfi hold a press conference in Berlin on October 1, 2021. (Reuters)
Merkel and Menfi hold a press conference in Berlin on October 1, 2021. (Reuters)
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Merkel stresses to Menfi Need for Foreign Forces, Mercenaries to Quit Libya

Merkel and Menfi hold a press conference in Berlin on October 1, 2021. (Reuters)
Merkel and Menfi hold a press conference in Berlin on October 1, 2021. (Reuters)

Outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed on Friday that Libya will remain a top priority for her country after she leaves office.

Merkel held talks in Berlin on Friday with head of the Libyan Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi.

She underscored the need for foreign forces and mercenaries to withdraw from Libya before the December 24 elections.

The future of Libya must be decided by the Libyans without foreign influence and a lot is left to be done before the polls, she noted.

Moreover, Merkel said the pullout of foreign forces must be backed with bolstering the Libyan economy in order to restore stability in the country.

For his part, Menfi pledged to complete the necessary preparations to hold the elections and based on the Berlin 2 conference decisions.

Before meeting with Menfi, Merkel had stressed the need for the implementation of the decisions of the conference that she hosted in June.

Days earlier, Merkel had held telephone talks with head of the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdulhamid Dbeibeh.

She confirmed to him that Germany will continue its efforts to resolve the crisis in Libya, while urging the need for the pullout of foreign forces and mercenaries before the elections.

The Berlin 2 conference, in which 20 countries took part, stressed the need for the elections to be held in December, the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries, consolidating the ceasefire, unifying the military and ending foreign meddling in Libya.

At the time, Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush said the foreign forces will be pulling out “within days” and yet, three months later, very few fighters have left the country.



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills 8 Near Aid Centers, 4 Others

19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills 8 Near Aid Centers, 4 Others

19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 12 people on Saturday, including eight who had gathered near aid distribution sites in the Palestinian territory suffering severe food shortages.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a separate incident, Bassal said five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations.

The Israeli army told AFP it was "looking into" both incidents, which according to the civil defense agency occurred near distribution centers run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Its operations began at the end of May when Israel eased a total aid blockade that lasted more than two months but have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Saturday that 450 people had been killed and 3,466 others injured while seeking aid in near-daily incidents since late May.

The Israeli blockade imposed in early March amid an impasse in truce negotiations had produced famine-like conditions across Gaza, according to rights groups.

Israel's military has pressed its operations across Gaza more than 20 months since an unprecedented Hamas attack triggered the devastating war, and even as attention has shifted to the war with Iran since June 13.

Bassal told AFP that three people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City in the north, and one more in another strike on the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces also demolished more than 10 houses in Gaza City "by detonating them with explosives", he added.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.

Earlier this week, the UN's World Health Organization warned that Gaza's health system was at a "breaking point", pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running.

The Hamas attack in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.