The Trump administration has sought agreements allowing it to send immigrants to third countries for detention.

IAuthorities in Libya, a country still divided after years of civil war, have denied reports that they will receive undocumented migrants deported by the United States.

The Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that deportation flights from the US to the North African country could begin this week, despite previous government reports raising alarm over unsafe conditions there.

The National Unity government, which controls western Libya, said in a statement that it rejected the use of its territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent.

“The Government of National Unity categorically denies any agreement or coordination with US authorities regarding the deportation of migrants to Libya,” it said in a statement.

Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which controls eastern Libya, also rejected the report, saying that migrants “will not be received through airports and ports secured by the Armed Forces, and that this is completely false and we cannot accept it at all.”

The report by Reuters, which cites three anonymous US officials, says that the US military could fly migrants to Libya for detention as soon as Wednesday, but notes that those plans are subject to change. The number and nationality of the migrants who could be deported are unknown.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has sought out third countries where it can deport and detain undocumented immigrants, part of a larger push to enact the administration’s hard-right vision of immigration enforcement.

And on April 30, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced at a cabinet meeting at the White House that the US was requesting that countries take its undocumented migrants.

“We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favour to us?” Rubio said. “And the further away from America, the better.”

‘Extortion, forced labour and unlawful killings’

Authorities in Libya have long been willing and controversial partners in immigration enforcement, collaborating with the European Union to intercept and detain migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

A 2022 statement from the human rights watchdog Amnesty International says that “men, women and children returned to Libya face arbitrary detention, torture, cruel and inhuman detention conditions, rape and sexual violence, extortion, forced labour and unlawful killings”.

The US government itself has also documented unsafe conditions in Libya, with a report released last year by the Department of State noting “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and “arbitrary arrest and detention”.

Such conditions have not deterred the Trump administration from sending undocumented immigrants to prisons known for abusive conditions in countries like El Salvador, sometimes based on unsubstantiated allegations of gang affiliation and without due process.

The practice of third countries entering into agreements with Western nations to warehouse undocumented migrants and asylum seekers is also not entirely new.

Earlier this week, Rwanda also stated that it was discussing the possibility of receiving undocumented immigrants from the US. The Rwandan government has also previously entered into an agreement with the United Kingdom to hold asylum seekers while their claims were processed in the UK, although that deal ultimately stalled out when faced with backlash and legal challenges.

British pro-Palestinian activist groups found that since September the government had sent ‘8,630 separate munitions’ to Israel.

A new report has found that United Kingdom firms have continued to export military items to Israel despite a government suspension in September last year, amid allegations that the British parliament has been deliberately “misled”.

A report by the Palestinian Youth Movement, Progressive International and Workers for a Free Palestine revealed on Wednesday that the UK sent “8,630 separate munitions since the suspensions took effect, all in the category ‘Bombs, Grenades, Torpedoes, Mines, Missiles And Similar Munitions Of War And Parts Thereof-Other’.

“Despite [Foreign Minister] David Lammy, Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds MP and other Ministers repeatedly reiterating in the House of Commons that the Government has ended this direct supply of F-35 [fighter jets] parts, the evidence indicates that they have continued to send direct shipments of components for lethal F-35 jets to Israel after September 2024 – and that these shipments are ongoing,” it added.

In September, Lammy announced the suspension of 29 arms export licences, out of 350, that were used during Israel’s war on Gaza.

Lammy said the government had found there had been a “clear risk” that the licences “might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law”. He said the ongoing licences covered items such as “goggles and helmets for use by one of the UK’s closest allies”.

‘Parliament misled’

The report used data from the Israel Tax Authority and concluded that Lammy had “misled” Parliament and the public about arms exports to Israel.

Former Labour shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said the government has a lot of “explaining to do” in response to the report.

“If Parliament has been misled by the Foreign Secretary or any minister it is a resigning matter and more importantly it attracts potentially a charge of complicity in war crimes. The Government has shrouded its arms supplies to Israel in secrecy,” McDonnell said.

Former leader of the Labour Party and independent MP, Jeremy Corbyn, said the report could explain why the government has not responded to a call for a public inquiry into the UK’s role in Israel’s military assault.

“When will the UK government come clean about the reality of military cooperation with Israel? The public deserves to know the full scale of the UK’s complicity in crimes against humanity – and we are not going anywhere until we have established the truth,” he said.

The Foreign Office told Al Jazeera that the government has suspended the “relevant licences” that might be used to “commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law in Gaza.”

“Of the remaining licences for Israel, the vast majority are not for the Israeli Defence Forces but are for civilian purposes or re-export, and therefore are not used in the war in Gaza. The only exemption is the F-35 programme due to its strategic role in NATO and wider implications for international peace and security,” the ministry said.

“Any suggestion that the UK is licensing other weapons for use by Israel in the war in Gaza is misleading.”

“The UK totally opposes an expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. We urge all parties to return urgently to talks, implement the ceasefire agreement in full, secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas, and work towards a permanent peace,” it added.

The US and Yemen’s Houthis agreed to an Oman-mediated deal to cease trading attacks after weeks of air strikes.

A ceasefire deal between Yemen’s Houthis and the United States does not include any operations against Israel, the group’s chief negotiator has announced.

Mohammed Abdulsalam told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that attacking Israel was not included in “any way, shape or form” in the agreement mediated by Oman.

The announcement of the deal came hours after Israeli warplanes targeted Yemen’s Sanaa airport. Airport director Khaled al-Shaief told Al Masirah on Wednesday that “around $500 million in losses were caused by the Israeli aggression” on the airport.

The deal was announced a day earlier by US President Donald Trump, who said attacks on Yemen against the Houthis would stop, effective immediately, after the group agreed to stop targeting vessels in the Red Sea.

In a statement on Tuesday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said that “following recent discussions and contacts … with the aim of de-escalation, efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement between the two sides”.

“Neither side will target the other … ensuring freedom of navigation and the smooth flow of international commercial shipping” in the Red Sea, he added.

Attacks on shipping

Since Israel began its war on Gaza in October 2023 following the Hamas attack on southern Israel, the Houthis have targeted Israel and vessels in the Red Sea in solidarity with Palestinians under fire.

During the fleeting ceasefire in Gaza earlier this year, the Houthis paused their attacks but restarted following Israel’s decision to enforce a total blockade on the enclave in early March, followed soon after by its full resumption of the war.

The group also threatened to restart attacks on shipping, which had been paused since January, which triggered a response from the US military in the form of near-daily air strikes.

But announcing the agreement on Tuesday, Trump said the Houthis “don’t want to fight any more”.

“And we will honour that, and we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated,” he added.

“They say they will not be blowing up ships any more, and that’s… the purpose of what we were doing.”

But Abdulsalam told Houthi-affiliated news outlet Al Masirah TV that any US action would result in a response following the deal.

“If the American enemy resumes its attacks, we will resume our strikes,” he said.

“The real guarantee for the accord is the dark experience that the United States has had in Yemen,” he added.

Houthi political leader Mahdi al-Mashat also said attacks on Israel “will continue” and go “beyond what the Israeli enemy can withstand”.

A ballistic missile attack fired by the Houthis on Ben Gurion International Airport on Sunday hit the perimeter of the airport, injuring eight people, damaging a road and a vehicle and forcing air traffic to stop.

The Israeli military confirmed its defence system failed to shoot down the projectile, despite several attempts to intercept it, adding that an investigation was under way.