Demands for Immediate Investigation into Mass Graves in Tarhuna, Libya

A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)
A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)
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Demands for Immediate Investigation into Mass Graves in Tarhuna, Libya

A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)
A mass grave in Tarhuna. (General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons)

Libya's General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons announced the discovery of a new mass grave in the southwestern city of Tarhuna.

The Authority recovered an unidentified body from one of the graves found in the agricultural project in Tarhuna.

Political and human rights activists called for an immediate investigation into the discovery, demanding holding those responsible accountable.

The Authority added that it would continue to examine all the reports it received about the missing persons during the past months, pointing out that it had previously taken 1,349 DNA samples from their families.

Tarhuna MP Abu Bakr Said said that in light of this tragic situation and the daily discovery of mass graves, "the Presidential Council and the Government should declare a state of emergency in Tarhuna."

He urged authorities to apprehend the "perpetrators of these heinous crimes."

The head of the Authority, Kamal al-Siwi, accompanied by some officials from the body, visited the city of Zintan last week to discuss the issue of the missing persons, clarify the mechanism of the commission's work, and facilitate the procedures for the families.

Libyan human rights groups have called on the UN to urge all Libyan parties to expedite the investigation into the discovery of mass graves in Tarhuna.

The United Nations Mission to Libya (UNSMIL) urged the "rapid and transparent" investigation into the extrajudicial killings.



Palestinian TV Says Israeli Strike Kills 5 Journalists in Gaza

A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)
A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)
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Palestinian TV Says Israeli Strike Kills 5 Journalists in Gaza

A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)
A destroyed press vehicle near Al Awda hospital following an Israeli airstrike in the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 26 December 2024. (EPA)

A Palestinian TV channel affiliated with an armed group said five of its journalists were killed Thursday in an Israeli strike on their vehicle in Gaza, with Israel's military saying it had targeted a "terrorist cell".

A missile hit the journalists' broadcast truck as it was parked in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to a statement from their employer, Al-Quds Today.

It is affiliated with Islamic Jihad, whose fighters have fought alongside Hamas in the Gaza Strip and took part in the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war.

The channel identified the five staffers as Faisal Abu Al-Qumsan, Ayman Al-Jadi, Ibrahim Al-Sheikh Khalil, Fadi Hassouna and Mohammed Al-Lada'a.

They were killed "while performing their journalistic and humanitarian duty", the statement said.

"We affirm our commitment to continue our resistant media message," it added.

The Israeli military said in its own statement that it had conducted "a precise strike on a vehicle with an Islamic Jihad terrorist cell inside in the area of Nuseirat".

It added that "prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians".

According to witnesses in Nuseirat, a missile fired by an Israeli aircraft hit the broadcast vehicle, which was parked outside Al-Awda Hospital, setting the vehicle on fire and killing those inside.

The Committee to Protect Journalists' Middle East arm said the organization was "devastated by the reports that five journalists and media workers were killed inside their broadcasting vehicle by an Israeli strike".

"Journalists are civilians and must always be protected," it added in a statement on social media.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said last week that more than 190 journalists had been killed and at least 400 injured since the start of the war in Gaza.

It was triggered by the Hamas-led October 7 attack last year, which resulted in 1,208 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 45,361 people in Gaza, a majority of them civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry that the UN considers reliable.