BENGHAZI: Eastern Libyan forces have retaken from Islamist fighters the last district of Benghazi, the country’s second largest city, military officials said.
The battle for Benghazi, waged between forces led by General Khalifa Haftar and an array of Islamist militants and other fighters, has been part of a broader conflict since Libya slipped into turmoil following the 2011 fall of strongman Muammar Qaddafi.
Haftar had declared victory in July but fighting continued in one area, Khreibish.
Commander Wanis Bukhamada, head of army special forces, said the eastern forces now fully controlled the district.
“We declare in this moment the liberation of Benghazi from terrorists,” he told Reuters.
Haftar launched his “Operation Dignity” campaign in May 2014, slowly gaining the upper hand against Islamist militants and former rebels who fought Qaddafi in the 2011 uprising.
Haftar is aligned with a government and parliament based in eastern Libya. He has rejected a UN-backed government based in the capital, Tripoli, and indicated he wants to run for president in an election expected next year.
He is popular with some in the east tired of chaos but he remains a divisive figure in the rest of the North African oil-producing nation.
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Eastern Libyan forces say they fully control Benghazi
Eastern Libyan forces say they fully control Benghazi
Israel retrieves remains of last Gaza hostage, military says
JERUSALEM: Israel has retrieved the remains of the last remaining hostage held in Gaza, the military said on Monday, fulfilling a key condition of the initial phase of US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the Gaza war.
The remains of police officer Ran Gvili’s have been identified and will be returned for burial, the military said in a statement.
Israel has said that it will reopen Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the enclave’s main gateway to the world, once Gvili’s remains are returned or the search operation for his body concludes.
Gvili had been held in Gaza since he was killed at Kibbutz Alumim during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in October under pressure from regional powers and Trump, who called the deal a first step toward a “strong, durable and everlasting peace.”
The remains of police officer Ran Gvili’s have been identified and will be returned for burial, the military said in a statement.
Israel has said that it will reopen Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, the enclave’s main gateway to the world, once Gvili’s remains are returned or the search operation for his body concludes.
Gvili had been held in Gaza since he was killed at Kibbutz Alumim during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.
Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire in October under pressure from regional powers and Trump, who called the deal a first step toward a “strong, durable and everlasting peace.”
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