Int’l Calls to Open Probe into Burnt Bodies Found on Sabratha Shore

Libyan security guard gathering documents of migrants (IOM)
Libyan security guard gathering documents of migrants (IOM)
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Int’l Calls to Open Probe into Burnt Bodies Found on Sabratha Shore

Libyan security guard gathering documents of migrants (IOM)
Libyan security guard gathering documents of migrants (IOM)

International diplomatic missions in Libya issued several calls on Tuesday for an investigation into the recovered 15 bodies, including a number burned, found on and near a boat on the shores of Sabratha.

Several humanitarian organizations called on Monday for the immediate rescue of the sinking boat off the coast of Libya, with 100 migrants on board.

The head of the European Union delegation to Libya, Sabadell Jose, strongly condemned the "heinous killing" of the 15 migrants in Sabratha.

"We are also deeply saddened by the tragic loss of human life. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families," said the official.

Jose called, via his Twitter account, for "a swift, independent and transparent investigation to bring all perpetrators to justice. We must continue to fight the criminal networks that exploit migrants and asylum-seekers in Libya."

Reports varied about the incident; some eyewitnesses said the dead people were migrants caught in a dispute between two rival groups of people smugglers, while others declared an artillery shell that attacked the boat.

The Libyan Red Crescent Society, which led the rescue mission, did not reveal any details, saying its efforts are limited to providing humanitarian support to local authorities and alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable groups.

The British Ambassador to Libya, Caroline Hurndall, called for an investigation into this "abhorrent” incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice, adding that the criminal networks that exploit migrants and asylum-seekers must be dismantled.

The UN said that 11 charred bodies were found inside the docked boat, with four wounded bodies found outside, noting that the exact circumstances have not been determined.

The statement indicated that the killings reportedly resulted from armed clashes between rival traffickers.

UNSMIL called on "Libyan authorities to ensure a swift, independent and transparent investigation to bring all perpetrators to justice," adding that the attack is a "stark reminder" of the lack of protection migrants and asylum-seekers face in Libya, and the "widespread human rights violations undertaken by powerful trafficking and criminal networks who need to be swiftly stopped and prosecuted."

Furthermore, the US Embassy in Libya also strongly condemned the incident, calling on the Libyan authorities to "swiftly investigate this horrific attack, prosecute the criminals involved, and intensify efforts to combat human trafficking to the fullest extent."

Sabratha is one of the major transit points for illegal migrants seeking to travel to Europe.

Since the start of the year, more than 14,000 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

At least 216 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, and 724 are missing and presumed dead.

The Red Crescent recovered dozens of bodies washed ashore in Khoms city in November 2020, which the group described as a terrifying disaster at the time.

The Red Crescent pointed out that it works with regional and international partners to support and assist migrants, stressing that it will continue to support migrants and displaced persons all over Libya by providing health services and ensuring communication with their families.

Meanwhile, SOS Mediterranee and the ALARMPHONE project issued a joint call to rescue a boat carrying 100 migrants off the Libyan coast.

The appeal, which was reported by the Italian agency "Aki," stated that a hundred people are at risk off the coast of Libya after losing contact with them, pointing out that before the communication was cut off, one of the migrants reported to the two sides that the boat's engine failed and water started leaking into the ship.



UN Reports 798 Deaths Near Gaza Aid Hubs in Six Weeks

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
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UN Reports 798 Deaths Near Gaza Aid Hubs in Six Weeks

Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo
Smoke rises from Gaza after an explosion, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo

The UN rights office said on Friday it had recorded at least 798 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and near convoys run by other relief groups.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation.

After the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians trying to reach the GHF's aid hubs in zones where Israeli forces operate, the United Nations has called its aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards, Reuters reported.

"(From May 27) up until the seventh of July, we've recorded 798 killings, including 615 in the vicinity of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, and 183 presumably on the route of aid convoys," UN rights office (OHCHR) spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing in Geneva.

The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza at the end of May after Israel lifted an 11-week-old aid blockade, told Reuters the UN figures were "false and misleading". It has repeatedly denied that deadly incidents have occurred at its sites.

"The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to UN convoys," a GHF spokesperson said.

The Israeli army said it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimize friction between Palestinians and the Israel army by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes.

GUNSHOT WOUNDS

The OHCHR said it based its figures on a range of sources such as information from hospitals in Gaza, cemeteries, families, Palestinian health authorities, NGOs and its partners on the ground.

Most of the injuries to Palestinians in the vicinity of aid distribution hubs recorded by the OHCHR since May 27 were gunshot wounds, Shamdasani said.

"We've raised concerns about atrocity crimes having been committed and the risk of further atrocity crimes being committed where people are lining up for essential supplies such as food," she said.

Following the GHF assertion that the OHCHR figures are false and misleading, Shamdasani said: It is not helpful to issue blanket dismissals of our concerns - what is needed is investigations into why people are being killed while trying to access aid."

Israel has repeatedly said its forces operate near the relief aid sites to prevent supplies falling into the hands of militants it has been fighting in the Gaza war triggered by the Hamas-led cross-border attack on October 7, 2023.

"Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command," an Israeli army spokesperson said in a statement, adding that such incidents were under review by the army.

The GHF said on Friday it had delivered more than 70 million meals to hungry Gaza Palestinians in five weeks, and that other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted" by Hamas or criminal gangs.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the UN World Food Program said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by "hungry civilian communities".

There is an acute shortage of food and other basic supplies 21 months into Israel's military campaign in Gaza, during which much of the enclave has been reduced to rubble and most of its 2.3 million inhabitants displaced.