Algeria Arrests Former Tunisian Intelligence Chief, Hands Him over to Tunisia

Algeria arrested former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo and handed him over to Tunisia. (Getty Images)
Algeria arrested former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo and handed him over to Tunisia. (Getty Images)
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Algeria Arrests Former Tunisian Intelligence Chief, Hands Him over to Tunisia

Algeria arrested former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo and handed him over to Tunisia. (Getty Images)
Algeria arrested former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo and handed him over to Tunisia. (Getty Images)

Algeria arrested former Tunisian intelligence chief Lazhar Longo and handed him over to Tunisia after he turned up in the neighboring country, a Tunisian security official told Reuters on Thursday.

He was reportedly arrested while trying to illegally cross the border between the two countries.

Observers believe his arrest is a result of security coordination between Algiers and Tunis.

Algeria did not immediately comment on the arrest.

A controversial figure, Longo, who also served as a Tunisian security attaché in Paris, was sacked and placed under house arrest last year after President Kais Saied seized control of executive power and closed the parliament.

Longo is close to former Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem al-Mechichi and the moderate Islamist Ennahda movement.



Israeli Strike Wounds a Hospital Chief in Besieged Northern Gaza, Health Officials Say

A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Israeli Strike Wounds a Hospital Chief in Besieged Northern Gaza, Health Officials Say

A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

An Israeli strike has wounded the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza, local and international health officials said.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya was in his office when it was hit by an Israeli quadcopter drone on Sunday, according to the humanitarian organization MedGlobal.

The doctor was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh and back, causing serious bleeding that requires surgical care, the aid group said. Abu Safiya is the lead physician in Gaza for MedGlobal, which has worked in Gaza since 2018.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Health Ministry, posted a video to social media on Monday showing Abu Safiya limping and leaning on a crutch while speaking to patients inside the hospital.

The Israeli military said it was unaware of a strike on the grounds of Kamal Adwan Hospital and said it does its utmost to avoid harming civilians.

During the past month, Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit several times, was put under siege and was raided by Israeli troops, who are waging a heavy offensive in the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp and towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya. The Israeli military says it detained Hamas fighters hiding in the hospital, a claim its staff denies.

Abu Safiya said Israeli strikes on the hospital last week wounded nine medical staff and damaged the generator and oxygen systems. He said the hospital was treating 85 wounded, 14 children in the pediatric ward and four newborns in the neonatal unit.

Israel also denied knowledge of conducting any strikes on in the area of the hospital at that time.