Trump adviser meets top officials from Libya's rival governments
The meeting between Massad Boulos and Field Marshal Haftar came after the US official met Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, who heads Libya's rival government.
'I was pleased to be received in Benghazi by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar,' Mr Boulos said on X. 'We discussed US support for Libyan efforts to unify institutions, reinforce sovereignty, and chart a path to stability and prosperity through political dialogue.'
Libya has had little stability since a 2011 Nato-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Qaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020.
Mr Haftar controls much of the eastern part of Libya. Mr Boulos also met the military leader's son, Lt Gen Saddam Haftar.
'We discussed ways to expand co-operation and reinforce Libyan efforts to unify the military and other key institutions. I reiterated US support for Libyan unity, sovereignty, and stability,' Mr Boulos said.
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Middle East Eye
3 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Why are people protesting against the Boston Consulting Group?
In San Francisco, Boston, Dallas and other cities around the country, protesters have marched and chanted outside the offices of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). The demonstrators were demanding accountability for BCG's role in creating a deadly new aid distribution system backed by the US and Israel that a United Nations official described as using starvation as a bargaining chip. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, BCG is one of the most prominent consulting firms in the United States and advises clients on a large number of topics, including security and humanitarian issues. BCG is one of the world's three largest management consulting firms by revenue and is no stranger to controversy. It has been reported to have worked with Isabel dos Santos, who was accused of exploiting Angola's natural resources. It is also reported to have been one of the firm's "critical" in helping Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman consolidate his grip on power in the kingdom. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Middle East Eye examines the BCG's role in Gaza's humanitarian crisis and efforts to hold the consulting firm accountable. Collaboration with Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Between October 2024 and May 2025, BCG helped establish the controversial US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The GHF began to invite increased scrutiny in early June as evidence of massacres at GHF aid sites emerged, prompting BCG to cancel its contracts with GHF and describe their previous cooperation as 'unapproved'. 'Two former partners initiated this work, even though the lead partner was categorically told not to. This work was not a BCG project. It was orchestrated and run secretly outside any BCG scope or approvals. We fully disavow this work. BCG was not paid for any of this work,' BCG wrote on their website. But a Financial Times (FT) investigation revealed that BCG's cooperation with the GHF was extensive and discussed with senior BCG figures, while the Washington Post's reporting showed that BCG was filing monthly invoices of over $1m a month. The FT investigation found that BCG was originally contacted by Orbis, an American security company working on behalf of an Israeli think tank, to do a feasibility study for a new Gaza aid operation. Senior partners at BCG 'step down over Gaza humanitarian controversy' Read More » BCG then helped create Safe Reach Solutions (SRS), a mercenary firm that would provide security at aid sites, along with GHF. At one point, SRS reportedly chastised a contractor under its command for refusing to shoot Palestinian children. GHF's executive director resigned hours before GHF's public launch in May, claiming it was impossible to implement GHF's Gaza aid plan 'while also strictly adhering to humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence'. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher also criticised the GHF, describing it as 'a fig leaf for further violence and displacement'. BCG planned to bill GHF around $4m for work that included developing financial models of what the UN described as 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza. The model included 'voluntary relocation', where Palestinians in Gaza would have been given $5,000, rent subsidies for four years and subsidised food for a year. The model predicted that a quarter of the population would leave, and three-fourths of them would never return, according to FT. As Israeli air strikes indiscriminately kill Palestinians and children starve to death under Israel's suffocating siege, such an offer could hardly be considered voluntary and was widely condemned by rights groups. Why is the GHF controversial? Set up to bypass UN aid distribution networks that have been in place for decades, but that Israel alleges are now linked to Hamas, GHF sites have proven deadly for Palestinians seeking aid. Israeli soldiers have admitted to deliberately killing unarmed Palestinian aid seekers at GHF distribution sites, with one Israeli soldier describing the aid centres as 'killing fields'. Over a thousand Palestinian aid-seekers have been killed, mostly at GHF sites, since May, according to the UN. Yet as malnutrition spreads across Gaza, hungry Palestinians have little choice but to brave Israeli bullets to search for aid. Israel alleges that violence at the aid sites is necessary to stop the aid from being stolen by Hamas. However, an internal US review examined 156 instances of stolen or lost aid and found no evidence that Hamas was stealing it. Rather, Israel directly or indirectly caused the loss or theft of aid in 44 instances, according to the findings. Meanwhile, Israel has admitted that it supports anti-Hamas gangs notorious for stealing aid. How other aid organisations reacted to BCG On 13 June, Save the Children International became the first charity to pause cooperation with BCG over its role in the GHF. Save the Children CEO Inger Ashing said BCG's modelling of a plan for the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza 'disregards fundamental rights and dignity, and raises serious ethical and legal questions' - and that Save the Children would suspend work with BCG pending the outcome of an external investigation. Several days later, BCG's chief risk officer and the leader of its social-impact practice resigned from their roles. Yet despite the international outcry against GHF, some humanitarian aid organisations have been hesitant to cut ties with GHF. Although the World Food Programme told The New Humanitarian that it planned to review its ties with BCG, other humanitarian aid organisations, including some that decried the GHF, did not indicate that they were considering ending their relationship with BCG. What protests have there been against BCG? Some protesters have found BCG, with dozens of locations across the US, an accessible target to protest against the killing of aid seekers in Gaza. On 25 July, demonstrators banged pots and pans outside BCG's headquarters in the Seaport district of Boston. GHF chief attacks UN and media, avoids saying 'Palestinians' when referring to Gaza Read More » A security guard at the building seriously injured one protester when he pushed the protester into a metal pole, breaking several ribs. 'Very quickly, a security guard ran from within the building without me noticing him, and slammed into me and pushed me away from the door with all his strength,' the protester, who asked to remain anonymous, told Middle East Eye. Multiple witnesses corroborated the account, and the protester was later taken by ambulance to a hospital with a trauma centre. On 25 July, at least a dozen protesters were arrested when demonstrators staged a sit-in at a BCG facility in Dallas. Protesters also demonstrated outside a BCG office in Dallas on Thursday. On the west coast of the United States, the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) organised protests outside of BCG's offices in San Francisco and San Diego. 'The time to act is now! The genocide in Gaza had reached a critical moment with thousands facing starvation due to the brutal siege on the strip… we will make ourselves heard,' a statement from the San Diego chapter of PYM said.
Middle East Eye
8 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Hamas links truce talks to aiding Gaza as Israel abandons 'partial deals'
Hamas has made resolving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza a precondition for engaging in further ceasefire negotiations, as Israeli sources indicate that the framework for a partial deal may be abandoned. In a statement on Thursday, the Palestinian movement said it was ready to 'immediately re-engage in negotiations once aid reaches those in need and the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza are brought to an end.' It added that continuing talks under current conditions would be 'meaningless and futile' while Israel maintains what it described as a policy of starvation against Palestinians in the besieged enclave. Since March, Israel has imposed a near-total blockade on aid and goods entering Gaza. Health officials say the policy has led to a growing number of deaths from malnutrition, with at least 159 people - including 90 children - now reported to have died from starvation-related causes. Earlier this week, a leading UN-backed global hunger monitoring body warned that the 'worst-case scenario of famine' is unfolding in Gaza. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters 'The starvation war waged by the Zionist occupation in the Gaza Strip has reached an unbearable level and has become the greatest threat to the lives of more than two million Palestinians,' Hamas said in its statement. Khalil al-Hayya, the Qatar-based Hamas political bureau member overseeing Gaza affairs, said over the weekend that there was no longer any justification for continuing negotiations with Israel 'while the genocide against Gaza continues and civilians are deprived of basic needs'. Negotiations with Israel pointless while Gaza faces famine and genocide, says Hamas Read More » Last week, the United States and Israel unexpectedly withdrew from ceasefire talks with Hamas, despite what mediators described as significant progress toward an agreement. According to the Times of Israel, both an Arab diplomat and a source involved in the mediation said that Hamas negotiators in Doha had made it clear they would not return to the negotiating table unless the starvation crisis in Gaza was resolved. The outlet also reported rising tensions between Hamas and the main Arab mediators - Qatar and Egypt - especially after they signed on to a joint declaration calling on Hamas to disarm and relinquish control of Gaza. In his recent recorded speech, Hayya addressed Egypt and Jordan directly, urging both governments and their people to mobilise to lift the siege on Gaza - comments that reportedly sparked irritation in both Cairo and Amman. No more partial deals In Israel, a senior official speaking at a media briefing said that 'there will be no more partial deals', signalling a shift in the country's negotiating stance. Echoing this position, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told a far-right conference that the complete disarmament and exile of Hamas, along with the return of all captives, is the 'only acceptable deal'. These latest remarks suggest that Israel has abandoned the previously discussed phased ceasefire framework and is now working with the United States to pursue a comprehensive agreement. According to several officials in recent months, Israel is expected to demand the expulsion of senior Hamas military leaders from Gaza, the disarmament of the group and guarantees that neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority will be allowed to govern the territory under any future deal. Why Trump has little interest in delivering a ceasefire in Gaza Read More » Hamas, however, has repeatedly rejected any proposal involving its disarmament. Last week, Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, warned that the group would not return to partial agreements if the latest round of talks - which now appears to have collapsed - failed to produce a deal. Hamas has consistently pushed for a comprehensive agreement since the war began, proposing the release of all captives in exchange for a complete end to the war. Since the war began in October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 60,000 Palestinians, including at least 18,500 children. The military offensive has devastated the enclave, with the vast majority of residential buildings, hospitals, schools and mosques either damaged or completely destroyed. Nearly the entire population has been displaced.
Middle East Eye
11 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
HRW slams 'death trap' US-backed aid centres in Gaza
Human Rights Watch on Friday accused Israeli forces operating outside US-backed aid centres in war-torn Gaza of routinely killing Palestinian civilians seeking food, as well as using starvation as a weapon of war. "US-backed Israeli forces and private contractors have put in place a flawed, militarised aid distribution system that has turned aid distributions into regular bloodbaths," said Belkis Wille, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch. At least 859 Palestinians were killed while attempting to obtain aid at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites between 27 May and 31 July - most by the Israeli military - according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. "Israeli forces are not only deliberately starving Palestinian civilians, but they are now gunning them down almost every day as they desperately seek food for their families," Wille said in a statement.
