Libya's GNU, LNA Discuss Means to Unify Military

LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)
LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)
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Libya's GNU, LNA Discuss Means to Unify Military

LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)
LNA Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori meets with GNU Chief of Staff Mohammed al-Haddad in Sirte. (LNA press office)

Libyan National Army (LNA) Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Abdulrazek al-Nadoori held talks on Saturday with Mohammed al-Haddad, the Government of National Unity (GNU) chief of staff, on efforts to unify the military.

Member of the 5+5 joint military committee, Khairy al-Tamimi said the meeting, which was held in Sirte city, was aimed at building trust between the two sides.

Efforts to unify the military institution "are moving in the right direction," he added.

Meanwhile, the High National Election Commission denied reports that it had declared "force majeure", meaning the cancellation of the upcoming elections.

A statement had been published on the commission's official website, claiming the polls have been canceled.

The commission said the website was hacked and the statement has since been taken down.

The statement had condemned what it said was the threat of one presidential candidate, who holds dual nationality, to use force against the commission, which prompted it to declare "force majeure".

Meanwhile, Stephanie Williams, adviser to the UN chief on Libya, stressed on Friday the need to respect the will of 2.8 million Libyans who had registered to vote in the elections.

The diplomat had held talks with head of the High Council of State Khalid al-Mishri in Tripoli.

In a tweet, she said she highlighted the calendar set by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum roadmap and "called for urgent and serious efforts to end Libya's already too long transitional period with free, fair and credible elections."

She added that talks with Mishri also "outlined his vision to work towards national elections via a referendum on the constitution in a timely manner."



Macron Tours Egypt Aid Outpost for Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron (L), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and Dr Amal Emam, CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent (C), visit Egyptian Red Crescent warehouses storing aid for Gaza, in the Egyptian border town of El-Arish, on April 8, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and Dr Amal Emam, CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent (C), visit Egyptian Red Crescent warehouses storing aid for Gaza, in the Egyptian border town of El-Arish, on April 8, 2025. (AFP)
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Macron Tours Egypt Aid Outpost for Gaza

French President Emmanuel Macron (L), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and Dr Amal Emam, CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent (C), visit Egyptian Red Crescent warehouses storing aid for Gaza, in the Egyptian border town of El-Arish, on April 8, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron (L), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) and Dr Amal Emam, CEO of the Egyptian Red Crescent (C), visit Egyptian Red Crescent warehouses storing aid for Gaza, in the Egyptian border town of El-Arish, on April 8, 2025. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron visited the Egyptian city of El-Arish, a key transit point for Gaza-bound aid, on Tuesday to call on Israel to lift its blockade of aid deliveries to the war-battered Palestinian territory.

Alongside his Egyptian host Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Macron toured a hospital in the port city, 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of the Gaza Strip, and met with medical professionals and sick and wounded Palestinians evacuated from Gaza.

Carrying a bouquet of red roses to give to patients, the French president visited several wards as well as a play area for children.

His office said the trip was aimed at piling pressure on Israel for "the reopening of crossing points for the delivery of humanitarian goods into Gaza".

Israel cut off aid to Gaza in early March, during an impasse over next steps in a ceasefire with Hamas. Later in March, Israel resumed intense bombardment across the territory and restarted ground operations.

Emergency department doctor Mahmud Mohammad Elshaer said the hospital had treated around 1,200 Palestinian patients since the Gaza war began in October 2023.

"Some days we can receive 100 patients, others 50," Elshaer said, adding that many had sustained limb amputations or eye or brain injuries.

In Cairo, Macron, Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II called for an "immediate return" to the ceasefire.

The three leaders met on Monday to discuss the war and humanitarian efforts to alleviate the suffering of Gaza's 2.4 million people, the vast majority of whom have been displaced at least once during the war.

In a joint statement on Monday, the heads of several UN agencies said many Gazans are "trapped, bombed and starved again, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies are piling up, and vital equipment is stuck" outside of the blockaded territory.