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Sisi Sends Libya’s Haftar a ‘Significant’ Message

Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Reuters file photo
Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Reuters file photo
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Sisi Sends Libya’s Haftar a ‘Significant’ Message

Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Reuters file photo
Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli. Reuters file photo

The Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, received a letter which he labeled as “significant” from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

In a brief statement on Tuesday, Haftar said that he had received a “significant message from Sisi,” delivered to him by the Egyptian military intelligence chief, Major General Khaled Megawer.

Haftar met with Megawer at his headquarters near the eastern city of Benghazi.

Haftar did not divulge the message’s details, but well-informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that it is linked to negotiations aiming to convince him to respond to international and US demands on the resumption of oil production. This comes under the condition of fulfilling demands presented by the LNA and Libyan parliament.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Libyan Presidential Council, Fayez al-Sarraj, on Tuesday met with President of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Maurer and his accompanying delegation in Tripoli. The talks were attended by the Health Ministry Undersecretary Mohammed Haitham.

The meeting discussed means to enhance cooperation between the Government of National Accord (GNA), which is led by Sarraj, and the ICRC.

Haftar had met with Maurer on Monday and discussed humanitarian conditions in Libya, especially in areas damaged by the ongoing war against terrorism and Turkish-backed militias.

The meeting also discussed the means of humanitarian cooperation, and what the ICRC could do to help alleviate the suffering in the country.

In other news, GNA’s Chairman of the High Council of State Khalid al-Mishri reaffirmed preparedness to solidify the GNA’s sovereignty across Libya in cooperation with allies, in reference to Turkey and Qatar.

“Our meeting with the Turkish and Qatari representatives was positive and we emphasized the importance of political dialogue to solve the crisis,” he added.

The GNA has agreed with Turkey and Qatar to sign a three-way agreement for military cooperation, a senior Libyan official has announced following a quick visit by the Turkish and Qatari defense ministers to Tripoli.

The announcement came from Libya’s Deputy Defense Minister Salah Al-Namroush on Aug 17 in a statement following talks with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah in Tripoli.

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Arab World

Aqaba Port Operations Normal, Says Director General

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
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Aqaba Port Operations Normal, Says Director General

The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo
The Jordanian capital, Amman. Petra file photo

Director-General of Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management Mahmoud Khleifat refuted reports on Sunday that Jordan’s Aqaba seaport has been evacuated due to unspecified threats.

“Aqaba seaport is working normally; it has not been evacuated”, he said.

Earlier, the US embassy in Amman said that Jordanian authorities evacuated the airport and the seaport in the coastal city of Aqaba, citing a threat that was not immediately specified.

"Due to a specific and credible threat, Jordanian authorities evacuated the international airport and seaport in Aqaba. We strongly advise all Americans to refrain traveling to either the airport or seaport," the embassy said in a statement.

Arab World

Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque, Factory

A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
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Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque, Factory

A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian man checks the torched entrance at the damaged Al-Taqwa mosque, whose walls were also daubed with Hebrew graffiti in an attack allegedly carried out by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Al-Tuwani, south of Yatta, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 19, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said Sunday, as an AFP journalist saw the structure's entrance scorched and Hebrew graffiti sprayed on its walls.

The incident came during a period of increased attacks against Palestinian communities by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.

More than two dozen settlers, some masked, attacked the Al-Taqwa mosque in the village of Al-Tuwani during the night and set it on fire, Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council, told AFP.

The settlers also set fire to two houses and a dairy factory, he said, adding the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the mosque.

Rabie said the settlers fled after villagers emerged from their homes, adding that local volunteers managed to extinguish the flames before they spread further.

AFP photographs showed a child and an elderly man inspecting the charred entrance and windows of the mosque, where part of a prayer carpet had also been burned.

Rabie said the dairy factory, run by women from the Masafer Yatta community, suffered extensive damage.

"We thank God that this attack did not turn into a tragedy with loss of life," he said.

The Israeli police said it deployed officers to the village last night "after a report of suspects who caused damage at the site, including a vehicle that was set on fire, damage to the door of a prayer structure, and graffiti sprayed on walls."

"The investigation into the circumstances of the incident... is still ongoing."

"The settlers' attack took place in full view of the Israeli army," Palestinian activist Osama Makhamra told AFP, noting that an Israeli military watchtower stands close to the mosque that was set ablaze.

Rabie, however, said Israeli army, police and fire service personnel arrived in the village about half an hour after the attack and inspected the damage to the mosque and other property.

The Palestinian religious affairs ministry condemned the attack.

In a statement, the ministry described the arson as "a full-fledged terrorist act", accusing Israel's "extremist occupation government" of encouraging settler violence in an effort to displace Palestinians from Masafer Yatta and turn the conflict into "a religious war".

In a recent report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank had reached "unprecedented" levels, averaging six attacks per day that resulted in casualties or property damage.

Excluding East Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.

Arab World

Eight Peshmerga Forces Wounded in Iranian Strike Targeting Northern Iraqi Kurdistan

A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS
A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS
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Eight Peshmerga Forces Wounded in Iranian Strike Targeting Northern Iraqi Kurdistan

A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS
A drone is intercepted in the sky over Erbil, Iraq, July 15, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. Dlawer/X/via REUTERS

Eight members of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces were wounded on Sunday in a drone attack targeting the headquarters of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, a Kurdish opposition group, in Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Security sources also told Reuters that an attack drone was shot down near the US consulate in Erbil.

Kurdish media outlet Rudaw quoted Adib Khaledian, a member of the leadership of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, as saying that a drone strike early on Sunday targeted the party's Jamshar headquarters near the Darashakran camp in Erbil province, wounding eight Peshmerga fighters.

He added that "four of the Peshmerga fighters were seriously wounded," and said that "surveillance drones are constantly flying over our positions and gathering information," according to the German news agency.

According to the network, the force has been targeted several times by Iran, with previous attacks killing two Peshmerga fighters and wounding 26 others.