Libya: Oil Crescent Residents Renew Threats to Shut Oil Ports

A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)
A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)
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Libya: Oil Crescent Residents Renew Threats to Shut Oil Ports

A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)
A view shows El Feel oil field near Murzuq, Libya, July 6, 2017. (Reuters)

The residents of the Oil Crescent Region threatened to shut down oil ports and block exports in protest of the “continued support” of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to the government chaired by Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh.

A statement by the residents said that if the UN mission continues to support the Government of National Unity (GNU), they will shut down oil exports.

The locals called on the international community to support and recognize the new government assigned by the House of Representatives (HoR) and headed by Fathi Bashagha.

They said that this would end the division and stop wasting public money caused by the previous government.

The statement signed by the residents reiterated that the solution to the political crisis in Libya is through presidential, parliamentary elections, based on a constitution that ends the transitional stage since 2011.

The Oil Crescent area is about 500 km east of Tripoli and contains the largest oil reserves and the three largest oil shipping ports, namely Brega, Zueitina, Ras Lanuf, and al-Sidra.

Meanwhile, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) Chairman held talks in Washington with the US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Joey Hood.

According to the US State Department, the two reiterated the importance of uninterrupted NOC operations for the benefit of all Libyans.

“Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Joey Hood met with Chairman Mustafa Sanalla to underline US support for the independence of National Oil Corporation. They agreed on the need to invest in renewables and the importance of uninterrupted NOC operations for the benefit of all Libyans,” reported the State Department.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian medical officials say two Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, most in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.

One strike late Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in Muwasi, the center of the so-called humanitarian zone. At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling bloodied wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.

The strike came hours after the Israeli military announced an expansion of the zone, where it has told Palestinians evacuating from other parts of Gaza to take refuge. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering in sprawling tent camps in and around Muwasi, a largely desolate area of dunes and agricultural fields with few facilities or services along the Mediterranean coast of southern Gaza.

Israel faces a deadline this week for the Biden administration’s ultimatum for it to allow more aid into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on US military funding.

Another strike early Tuesday hit a house in the urban Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people including a woman, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The strike also wounded 11 others, it said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike.

Israel’s 19-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters in their count, but say more than half the dead were women and children.

Israel says it targets Hamas fighters and blames the armed group for civilian deaths, saying it operates in residential areas and infrastructure and among displaced people.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third believed to be dead.