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Rescue Ship Picks Up 128 migrants Off Libya Coast

SOS Mediterranee team trying to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean. (SOS Mediterranee Twitter account)
SOS Mediterranee team trying to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean. (SOS Mediterranee Twitter account)
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Rescue Ship Picks Up 128 migrants Off Libya Coast

SOS Mediterranee team trying to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean. (SOS Mediterranee Twitter account)
SOS Mediterranee team trying to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean. (SOS Mediterranee Twitter account)

The rescue ship “Ocean Viking” rescued on Saturday 128 men, women and children from an overcrowded inflatable boat off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean

The humanitarian organization SOS Mediterranee, which operates the rescue ship, tweeted that two people were found deceased on the overcrowded rubber boat.

“Due to the extreme weather conditions, we were only able to recover one of the bodies,” it added.

The boat was on its way to Sicily, Italy, according to the VesselFinder vessel tracking website.

Most migrants leave from Libya in unfit boats to sail off the coast of North Africa, attempting a hazardous Mediterranean crossing to try and enter Europe through Italy.

The Italian Interior Ministry has recorded the arrival of 6,500 migrants by boat so far this year, up from 6,180 during the same period in 2021.

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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.