Libya’s Benghazi to Kick off Expanded Vaccination Campaign

A view of the vaccination center. (Benghazi health authorities)
A view of the vaccination center. (Benghazi health authorities)
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Libya’s Benghazi to Kick off Expanded Vaccination Campaign

A view of the vaccination center. (Benghazi health authorities)
A view of the vaccination center. (Benghazi health authorities)

An expanded COVID-19 vaccination campaign will kick off on Wednesday in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, as authorities reported 1,900 infections throughout the country.

The Benghazi health Services directorate said that it completed all preparations to launch the vaccination campaign at the Suleiman Al-Darrat Complex in the eastern city.

People above the age of 18 will be given the first doze of the Chinese-made Sinopharm shot.

Meanwhile, Libya registered 23 new COVID-19 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of fatalities to 4,100.

Also on Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration announced that it organized with the Libyan Health Ministry a series of trainings on COVID-19 preventive measures for medical workers operating in 20 centers for illegal migrants.

The Italian government announced it has provided aid to four hospitals in Libya.

The Italian Embassy in Libya tweeted that “a first shipment of medical equipment was delivered to Surman, Sabratha and Murzuq hospitals,” and “a 500 kilowatt generator was delivered to Ibn Sina Hospital” in Sirte.

The embassy confirmed that the aid “comes in response to urgent needs”, and was “sent as part of the Italian aid bridge, in cooperation with the Libyan government and the Health Ministry.”



UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
TT

UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

The UN rights chief on Tuesday voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since Oct. 2023, and fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year.

"UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November," Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.

He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on Nov. 22-23, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since Oct. 7, 2023. He did not specify how many of the recent deaths had been verified by UN human rights monitors.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.