Israel intensifies southern offensive as communication blackout hits Gaza – Newstrends
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Israel intensifies southern offensive as communication blackout hits Gaza

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12 months ago

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Israel intensifies southern offensive as communication blackout hits Gaza

Once again, communication has been cut down, resulting in a “near total blackout” in Gaza while Israel continues to attack the city in the south.

Remember that Israel’s shelling of the Gaza Strip resulted in a widespread blackout in late October that rendered the majority of Gaza residents unreachable by phone. This prompted the telecommunication services to be cut off in the region.

But days after widespread censure, they were fixed.

“We regret to announce the complete cessation of the communications and internet services within the Gaza Strip as the main paths that were previously reconnected were disconnected again,” the Palestinian telecoms company Paltel said in a statement.

The cutoff means casualty figures from Israeli attacks and details of ground fighting cannot be immediately known. Communications networks in Gaza have been repeatedly severed since the war began because of Israeli bombardment.

The Palestinian communications ministry has previously appealed to neighbouring Egypt to operate communication stations near the Gaza border and activate roaming services on Egyptian networks. This has not happened.

Lamentation over situation in southern Gaza

Abdul Wahab Hamed, who fled central Gaza and headed south to shelter from Israeli bombardment, said the situation is alarming.

“The humanitarian situation here in the south is dire,” Hamed told Al Jazeera in Khan Younis.

“It’s marked with relentless bombardment causing a significant loss of life and damage. What unfolds here in Gaza is genocide. It’s an ethnic cleansing.”

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Israel’s ongoing assault will allow the world to witness “the consequences of war and the unrestrained power given [to] Israel”, Hamed said.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pleaded with Israel to “avoid further action that would exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and to spare civilians from more suffering”, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. “The secretary-general reiterates the need for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid flow to meet the needs of the people throughout the [Gaza] Strip. For people ordered to evacuate, there is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on,” he said.

In the same vein, the UN chief for humanitarian affairs, Martin Griffiths, said nowhere is safe in the besieged coastal enclave and people have been forced to “make one impossible choice after another.

“Such blatant disregard for basic humanity must stop,” he said.

Casualties surge

Casualty figures released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza and the Government Media Office indicate that at least 15,523 Palestinians have been killed and no fewer than 254 others killed in the West Bank.

Seventy percent of the Palestinians killed in the war are women and children, ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said, adding 41,316 people have been wounded since the start of the war with Israel.

“During the past hours, only 316 dead and 664 wounded were removed from debris and taken to hospitals, but many others are still under the rubble,” al-Qudra said.

However, the number of casualties in Israel stands at about 1,200 killed and 5,600 injured.

Hundreds of Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza at the weekend as the Israeli army ordered more areas in and around the enclave’s second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, reports indicate.

Israel intensifies southern offensive as communication blackout hits Gaza

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Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

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10 hours ago

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November 26, 2024

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Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes pounded a densely-populated part of the Lebanese capital and its southern suburbs on Tuesday, hours ahead of an anticipated announcement of a ceasefire ending hostilities between Israel and Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

A strike on Beirut hit the Noueiri district with no evacuation warning and killed at least one person, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a preliminary toll.

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Minutes later, at least 10 Israeli strikes hit Beirut’s southern suburbs. They began approximately 30 minutes after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders for 20 locations in the area, the largest such warning yet.

As the strikes were under way, Israel’s military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said the air force was conducting a “widespread attack” on Hezbollah targets across the city.

 

Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs

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International

Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

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11 hours ago

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November 26, 2024

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President-elect Donald Trump

Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised the legal cases brought against him, calling them “empty and lawless”.

He accused Democrats of weaponising the judicial system to target him as a political opponent.

In a strongly worded statement, Trump alleged that over $100 million in taxpayer money had been wasted in what he described as a politically driven effort to undermine his influence.

“Nothing like this has ever happened in our Country before,” he said, pointing to high-profile prosecutors, including Georgia’s Fani Willis and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as key figures in what he called a “political hijacking.”

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Trump also accused Willis of colluding with Nathan Wade, whom he described as “her lover” and lacking the experience to handle such cases.

He claimed Wade was paid “millions,” allegedly enabling lavish trips and cruises.

Letitia James, who is pursuing a civil fraud case against Trump, was also criticised.

He claimed she had campaigned on a promise to “get Trump” in her bid for office, an action he labelled “unethical” and “probably illegal.”

Trump also mentioned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, alleging that Bragg initially resisted prosecuting him but was pressured into action by the Justice Department and the Democratic Party.

Describing the series of legal actions as a “low point in the history of our Country,” Trump maintained his resolve, declaring: “I persevered, against all odds, and WON.”

 

Over $100m wasted, Trump mocks Democrats for targeting him

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US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

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11 hours ago

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November 26, 2024

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US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

A United States federal jury sentenced two Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, to 30 years in prison for scamming certain US citizens $3,500,000.

This was mentioned in a news statement made public on the US Department of Justice website on Monday.

According to the statement, the Nigerians, Ibekie and Aniukwu mislead their victims by informing them that they had received big inheritances that required payment to claim.

The couple would then ask their victims to transfer money, promising to refund them after the inheritances were claimed.

It also stated that the duo carried out romance scams by establishing romantic relationships with their victims and demanding them to send money after they had built trust in their victims.

It read, “An undercover law enforcement investigation has resulted in federal prison sentences for two Nigerian nationals residing in the Chicago suburbs who conducted online inheritance scams and other fraud schemes.

“Using aliases, Anthony Emeka Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu communicated with victims throughout the United States, convincing them they had received substantial inheritances and needed to send money to individuals associated with the defendants in order to claim it.

“In addition to the inheritance scam, the pair carried out an online romance scam that involved communicating with victims via social media and dating websites, building trust with the victims through a purported online romance, and convincing them to send money to a predetermined recipient. Aniukwu and Ibekie also orchestrated a ‘business email compromise’ scam that targeted corporate email accounts.

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“The fraud schemes were uncovered by a covert law enforcement investigation. The scams resulted in losses to victims of at least $3.5 million.”

According to the statement, after being arraigned on 14 charges, the duo pleaded guilty to their different alterations.

Following their guilty pleas, Ibekie was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday, and Aniukwu was sentenced to 10 years in prison on November 8.

The statement continued, “A federal jury earlier this year convicted Ibekie, 59, of Oswego, Illinois, on all 14 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, making false statements to a bank, and passport fraud. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Thursday sentenced Ibekie to 20 years in federal prison.

“Aniukwu, 50, of Romeoville, Illinois, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and money laundering charges. Judge Seeger on Nov. 8, 2024, sentenced Aniukwu to 10 years in prison.”

Meanwhile, Jennifer Gosha, an accomplice of the Nigerians and a US citizen, is expected to be sentenced on December 18 after pleading guilty.

“A third defendant, Jennifer Gosha, 52, a U.S. citizen from Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agent. Gosha is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Seeger on December 18, 2024,” the statement concluded.

 

US-based Nigerians get 30-year sentence over $3.5m romance scam

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