Hannibal Gaddafi Suffers Health, Psychological Setback, Refuses to See Doctors

Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)
Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)
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Hannibal Gaddafi Suffers Health, Psychological Setback, Refuses to See Doctors

Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)
Hannibal Gaddafi (Ismail Zitouny- Reuters)

An official Lebanese source revealed that Hannibal Gaddafi, the son of former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, “is going through a very difficult health and psychological condition,” as he awaits his prosecution seven years after his detention under an arrest warrant in Lebanon.

The Lebanese judiciary accuses the son of Muammar Gaddafi of “withholding information related to the fate of Imam Musa al-Sadr and his two companions, Sheikh Muhammad Yaqoub and journalist Abbas Badreddine,” who went missing during a visit to the Libyan capital in 1978.

The official source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hannibal “suffers from difficult health symptoms,” adding that his condition has further deteriorated in recent weeks.

“He refuses to talk to anyone or to be examined by doctors,” according to the source.

Gaddafi’s attorney, Ghassan al-Mawla, refused to give details on his client’s situation, telling Asharq Al-Awsat that he was “committed to the instructions of the Bar Association, which prevent lawyers from making media statements.”

Hannibal Gaddafi’s judicial case has seen no progress in seven years, due to the Libyan authorities’ reluctance to cooperate with Judge Zaher Hamadeh, who is in charge of the matter.

An informed judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the judicial investigator has “sent several memos to notify 13 Libyan individuals of their suspicious involvement in the case, including officers and key cadres in the Muammar Gaddafi regime.”

But Libyan authorities deliberately ignored the Lebanese requests, the source underlined.

The source stressed that Hannibal was arrested according to the law and without any injustice, adding that legal measures were taken against him for concealing information about the kidnapping and disappearance of Imam al-Sadr and his two companions and his suspicious involvement in the case.



UN Agency Closes the Rest of Its Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle under Israeli Blockade

Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
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UN Agency Closes the Rest of Its Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle under Israeli Blockade

Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)
Palestinians receive bags of flour and other humanitarian aid distributed by UNRWA, the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip on Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP)

The UN food agency is closing all of its bakeries in the Gaza Strip, officials said Tuesday, as food supplies dwindle after Israel sealed the territory off from all imports nearly a month ago.

Israel, which tightened its blockade and later resumed its offensive in order to pressure Hamas into accepting changes to their ceasefire agreement, said that enough food entered Gaza during the six-week truce to sustain the territory's roughly 2 million Palestinians.

Markets largely emptied weeks ago, and UN. agencies say the supplies they built up during the truce are running out. Gaza is heavily reliant on international aid, because the war has destroyed almost all of its food production capability.

Mohammed al-Kurd, a father of 12, said that his children go to bed without dinner.

“We tell them to be patient and that we will bring flour in the morning,” he said. “We lie to them and to ourselves.”

A World Food Program memo circulated to aid groups on Monday said that it could no longer operate its remaining bakeries, which produce the pita bread on which many rely. The UN agency said that it was prioritizing its remaining stocks to provide emergency food aid and expand hot meal distribution. WFP spokespeople didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Olga Cherevko, a spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that the WFP was closing its remaining 19 bakeries after shuttering six others last month. She said that hundreds of thousands of people relied on them.

The Israeli military body in charge of Palestinian affairs, known as COGAT, said that more than 25,000 trucks entered Gaza during the ceasefire, carrying nearly 450,000 tons of aid. It said that amount represented around a third of what has entered during the entire war.

“There is enough food for a long period of time, if Hamas lets the civilians have it,” it said.

UN agencies and aid groups say that they struggled to bring in and distribute aid before the ceasefire took hold in January. Their estimates for how much aid actually reached people in Gaza were consistently lower than COGAT’s, which were based on how much entered through border crossings.

The war began when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Hamas is still holding 59 captives — 24 of whom are believed to be alive — after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.

Israel's offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, including hundreds killed in strikes since the ceasefire ended, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't say whether those killed in the war are civilians or combatants. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Israel sealed off Gaza from all aid at the start of the war, but later relented under pressure from Washington. US President Donald Trump's administration, which took credit for helping to broker the ceasefire, has expressed full support for Israel's actions, including its decision to end the truce.

Israel has demanded that Hamas release several hostages before commencing talks on ending the war, negotiations that were supposed to have begun in early February. It has also insisted that Hamas disarm and leave Gaza, conditions that weren't part of the ceasefire agreement.

Hamas has called for implementing the agreement, in which the remaining hostages would be released in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout.