LNA Says Turkish Battleship Strikes Area in Western Libya

GNA members carry weapons in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
GNA members carry weapons in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
TT
20

LNA Says Turkish Battleship Strikes Area in Western Libya

GNA members carry weapons in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
GNA members carry weapons in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

A Turkish battleship has fired missiles on a region west of Libya, causing no casualties, the Libyan National Army (LNA) led by commander Khalifa Haftar announced.

This is a dangerous military escalation and an indication that the intervention of Turkish maritime forces hasn't stopped, LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said Wednesday.

In a terse statement, the Military Information Division revealed that for the second day in a row, the LNA carried out airstrikes on militia targets in Abugrein, east of Misrata.

The LNA also downed a Turkish drone in Misrata, the fourth in two days.

In a press conference he held on Tuesday, the spokesman stated that more than 500 mercenaries were killed in Tripoli last week. While the death toll of Misrata militias stood at more than 60.

Mismari added that LNA forces seized several key points on the border with Tunisia.

In another context, the High Council of State in Tripoli called on the Government of National Accord to demand an explanation from the European Union on the launch of a new naval mission in the Mediterranean Sea aimed at enforcing a UN arms embargo on Libya.

The Council is protesting what it said were the selective standards of the EU.

The Council, which isn’t internationally recognized but is loyal to the government, said the mission is biased to Haftar.

It added that the EU insists on only inspecting vessels on the high seas, raising doubts on the mission’s objectives.



Bodies of Eight Red Crescent Medics Recovered in Gaza, One Still Missing

Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)
Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Bodies of Eight Red Crescent Medics Recovered in Gaza, One Still Missing

Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)
Members of the Palestine Red Crescent and other emergency services carry bodies of fellow rescuers killed a week earlier by Israeli forces, during a funeral procession at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on March 31, 2025. (AFP)

The bodies of eight Palestine Red Crescent medics who came under fire in Gaza just over a week ago have been recovered, though a ninth worker is still unaccounted for, the Red Cross said.

In a statement late on Sunday, the International Committee of the Red Cross said it was "appalled" at the deaths.

"Their bodies were identified today and have been recovered for dignified burial. These staff and volunteers were risking their own lives to provide support to others," it said.

The Palestine Red Crescent said it also recovered the bodies of six civil defense members and one UN employee from the same area. It said Israeli forces had targeted the workers. Red Cross statements did not apportion blame for the attacks.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said one worker from the nine-strong Red Crescent group was still unaccounted for. The group went missing on March 23.

The Israeli military said on Monday that an inquiry had found that on March 23, troops opened fire on a group of vehicles that included ambulances and fire trucks when the vehicles approached a position without prior coordination and without headlights or emergency signals.

It said several fighters belonging to the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups were killed.

"The Israeli army condemns the repeated use of civilian infrastructure by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, including the use of medical facilities and ambulances for terrorist purposes," it said in a statement.

It did not comment directly on the deaths of the Red Cross workers.

The incident was the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere since 2017, the IFRC said.

"I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians," said IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain.

"They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked," he added.

According to the United Nations, at least 1,060 healthcare workers have been killed in the 18 months since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The global body is reducing its international staff in Gaza by a third due to staff safety concerns.