Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
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Tunisia’s Navy Leads Operations to Avoid Environmental Disaster Off Gabes

Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]
Men stand next to a boat on a beach as a military boat is seen in the background off the coast of Gabes, where a merchant fuel ship sank. [Zoubeir Souissi/Reuters]

A team of divers from the Tunisian navy completed inspecting the hull of a tanker loaded with 750 tons of fuel that sank off southeast Tunisia, the presidency said in a statement on Monday.

It was able to determine the areas that require rapid intervention and ensured the fuel shipment is still sealed, the statement added.

The operation was carried out in cooperation with all relevant authorities, especially the ministries of environment and transportation, as well as local authorities in Gabes.

The statement affirmed that the leaked fuel observed on the surface of the waters off the Tunisian coast came from the engines of the ship that sunk on Friday and was in limited quantity.

Meanwhile, local suspicions are growing about the procrastination in leaving Tunisia’s coast and exposing the ship to sink to obtain compensation from insurance companies.

Former Minister of State Property Mabrouk Kourchid said this ship appeared to be sailing with forged documents after preliminary investigations revealed it does not have a shipping certificate.

Kourchid further pointed that it changed the flag of the African country it raised upon sailing.

“Evidence shows that it is a fuel smuggling operation, and the smugglers sank it.”

He said the Tunisian authorities will be held partly responsible for allowing “a rogue ship without legal documents to enter its territorial waters.”

Meanwhile, Tunisia said some countries have offered to help it prevent damage to the environment.

Italy announced sending two ships, helicopters and an underwater drone to help Tunisia.

The Italian army sent the equipment to monitor and control any oil leakage, Italy’s official news agency reported.

The Equatorial Guinea-flagged Xelo began taking water around seven kilometers (over four miles) offshore in the Gulf of Gabes and the engine room was engulfed, according to a Tunisian environment ministry statement.

Tunisian authorities rescued the seven-member crew, who received first aid and were being accommodated in a hotel.



Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Netanyahu Aide Faces Indictment over Gaza Leak

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks to reporters before a meeting with lawmakers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

An aide to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces indictment on security charges pending a hearing, Israel's attorney general has said, for allegedly leaking top secret military information during Israel's war in Gaza.

Netanyahu's close adviser, Jonatan Urich, has denied any wrongdoing in the case, which legal authorities began investigating in late 2024.

Netanyahu has described probes against Urich and other aides as politically motivated and on Monday said that Urich had not harmed state security. Urich's attorneys said the charges were baseless and that their client's innocence would be proven beyond doubt, reported Reuters.

Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said in a statement late on Sunday that Urich and another aide had extracted secret information from the Israeli military and leaked it to German newspaper Bild.

Their intent, she said, was to shape public opinion of Netanyahu and influence the discourse about the slaying of six Israeli hostages by their Palestinian captors in Gaza in late August 2024.

The hostages' deaths sparked mass protests in Israel and outraged hostages' families, who accused Netanyahu of torpedoing ceasefire talks that had faltered in the preceding weeks for political reasons.

Netanyahu vehemently denies this. He has repeatedly said that Hamas was to blame for the talks collapsing, while the group has said it was Israel's fault no deal had been reached.

Four of the six slain hostages had been on the list of more than 30 captives that Hamas was set to free if a ceasefire had been reached, according to a defense official at the time.

The Bild article in question was published days after the hostages were found executed in a Hamas tunnel in southern Gaza. It outlined Hamas' negotiation strategy in the indirect ceasefire talks and largely corresponded with Netanyahu's allegations against the militant group over the deadlock.

Bild said after the investigation was announced that it does not comment on its sources and that its article relied on authentic documents. The newspaper did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

A two-month ceasefire was reached in January this year and included the release of 38 hostages before Israel resumed attacks in Gaza. The sides are presently engaged in indirect negotiations in Doha, aimed at reaching another truce.

In his statement on Monday, Netanyahu said Baharav-Miara's announcement was "appalling" and that its timing raised serious questions.

Netanyahu's government has for months been seeking the dismissal of Baharav-Miara. The attorney general, appointed by the previous government, has sparred with Netanyahu's cabinet over the legality of some of its policies.