International
Israel intensifies southern offensive as communication blackout hits Gaza
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.”
READ ALSO:
- Police parade wanted cultists who buried CDC chair alive in Rivers
- Rescue my daughter, father of kidnapped 13-year-old schoolgirl, pleads with police
- UK unveils stricter Visa measures to curtail net migration
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
International
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
Ukraine has received the bodies of 140 soldiers killed while trying to defend the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson from Russian attacks.
The authority responsible for prisoner-of-war matters said on Telegram on Friday that five bodies were from the Sumy section in northern Ukraine.
Russia has no Ukrainian territories under its control in this area; however, at the beginning of March, units of allegedly Russian volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine made advances from the Sumy region into Russian territory.
READ ALSO:
- Nollywood veteran actor, Ogunjimi is dead
- Soldier dies while ‘rushing to rescue brother arrested by policemen’
- Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Once the identities of the dead have been established, they will be handed over to their relatives, the authority said.
The authority, known as the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for arranging the return.
Ukraine has been fending off a Russian invasion for over two years.
Despite the ongoing fighting, both sides regularly exchange the bodies of fallen soldiers and prisoners of war.
It is not yet known whether and how many dead soldiers Russia has received in return.
Ukraine receives bodies of 140 fallen soldiers from Russia
International
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
Weeks after missiles sent by Iran on April 14 rocked several parts of Israel, another debris of a surface-to-surface missile has been found in the southern part of the country.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the debris that was found by hikers in southern Israel, has been successfully evacuated.
“The effects of Iran’s attack on Israel can still be seen weeks after it occurred.
READ ALSO:
- Many dead as building collapses in Kano
- Anxiety as dollar exchanges for N1,420/$ on parallel market
- Safety: NCAA to audit all domestic airlines, says Aviation minister
“Earlier today, our troops removed the debris of a surface-to-surface missile intercepted during the Iranian attack. At the beginning of the week, the debris was found by hikers in southern Israel.
A complex removal, the process was made possible through advanced preparation by the Home Front Command and assistance from the IAF. During the process, the missile debris was cleared of hazardous materials, ” the IDF said in a post on Friday.
This is not the first missile discovered in the south since the attack. Similar missiles were discovered nearby in the Dead Sea area immediately after the major attack that Tehran launched against Israel, which included more than 300 suicide drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
Weeks after Iran’s attack, Israel discovers another massive surface-to-surface missile
International
Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK
Olubunmi Abodunde, a Nigerian living in the United Kingdom, reportedly beat his wife, Taiwo, to death with their son’s skateboard, according to the Daily Mail.
The couple, who had three children, arrived in the UK from Nigeria in 2022 and frequently feuded over reported relationships and financial disagreements.
According to the news outlet, 48-year-old Abodunde had been investigated by Suffolk Police several times for domestic abuse and was scheduled to stand trial for murder, but changed his plea to guilty on Wednesday after the jury was sworn in.
During the abuse, officers heard ‘a number of fringes’ inside the house, which Abodunde had entered despite bail restrictions imposed the day before that barred him from the residence due to another violent incident.
When they arrived 25 minutes later, they discovered Taiwo, 41, with her’skull bashed in’.
However, Judge Martyn Levett, sitting at Ipswich Crown Court, cautioned him that the only conceivable penalty was life imprisonment.
Suffolk Constabulary submitted itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which confirmed that three officers were being investigated.
An IOPC spokesman said, “We advised two Suffolk officers that they are under investigation for potential breaches of the police standards of professional behaviour at the level of gross misconduct.
“We advised another officer that they are under investigation at the level of misconduct.”
READ ALSO:
- Nigerian Army loses another major to bandits’ attack in Katsina
- Police arrest cultists for invading Anambra hotel with charms
- How ex-Head of Service Oyo-Ita diverted N3bn public funds to private firms
Abodunde has a history of mistrust and distrust towards his wife, accusing her of having affairs. He had been probed by police several times for alleged domestic abuse episodes prior to his wife’s murder.
He was detained on April 27 of last year, when police came to the couple’s house in Newmarket, Suffolk, and discovered Mrs. Abodunde with a split lip.
Later that day, he was released on police bail with the condition that he stay away from the marital residence and avoid approaching his wife.
However, after completing a night shift at Tesco, he returned home shortly after 9 a.m. to reportedly pick up his mobile phone.
At 9.20 a.m., two cops arrived to take Mrs. Abodunde’s testimony regarding the previous night’s incident, and they heard persistent banging inside.
But it wasn’t until 9.55 a.m. that they pushed their way in with permission from senior officers and discovered Mrs. Abodunde ‘clearly dead’ near the front entrance.
A post-mortem examination revealed that she had been throttled until unconscious, then stamped on until her ribs were fractured, before her husband used the skateboard to kill her off. The hits were so hard that the skateboard was ruined.
Prosecutor Simon Spence KC told the court that the hammering officers heard was most likely caused by Abodunde continuing to assault his wife after she was unconscious or dead.
Mrs. Abodunde worked as a care home assistant in Cambridge, but her husband, a civil engineer by training, was unable to find work and took shifts at Tesco and Wickes.
Following his arrest for the murder, Abodunde was taken to the hospital “because he appeared to have some sort of mental episode.”.
He later argued in a police statement that he had acted in self-defence, saying, “My wife has subjected me to physical abuse for a number of years.
“On November 28, we got into an argument. She ran at me with a knife. I grabbed the knife and cut my hand. I was defending myself.”
However, the court heard that, while he had a hand injury, no knife was found near his wife’s body.
Nneka Akudolu KC, defending, said the amount of violence was ‘completely out of character’ for her client and could have been influenced by the medicine he was on. However, she stated that no medical evidence would be supplied to back her assertion.
Following the court, Suffolk Police Detective Inspector Dan Connick stated, “This was an awful attack on a woman that has had a long-term impact on the community and, most importantly, on the victim’s family.”
“We are pleased that Taiwo’s family will no longer have to go through the pain of a trial.
“Our thoughts remain with Taiwo’s family and friends, and we hope this result will bring some small comfort to them.”
Nigerian man kills wife months after relocating to UK
-
Education7 days ago
Why we charge N42m fees for primary school pupils — Charterhouse Lagos
-
Auto7 days ago
We expect massive roll-outs of Nigeria-made cars by December 2024 – Minister
-
metro7 days ago
JUST IN : Borrow pit collapses, kills seven Qur’anic school pupils
-
News6 days ago
We’re not part of Yoruba Nation agitation, says MKO Abiola family
-
metro5 days ago
How gunmen killed Babcock university lecturer, abducted two – Police
-
Politics7 days ago
Ondo APC primary: Ododo, gov aspirant in open confrontation
-
News4 days ago
Osun governor introduces choice first lady amid controversy over who will receive Remi Tinubu
-
Sports6 days ago
Arsenal beat Wolves to return to top spot