NEWS
Israel Pounds Gaza With Over 300 Strikes A Day
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip with over 300 airstrikes within a space of one day.
Israeli authorities admitted this on Monday, while authorities in the Gaza Strip, including the Hamas wail that the heavy bombing has left dozens of people killed, maimed and displaced.
Biztellers reports that this is happening barely a fortnight into the war triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel which took over 1,400 lives with many led captive and still being held by the Hamas.
Israel’s reaction to defend its territory and secure the release of her citizens held captive in the Palestinian territory has led to hostilities with humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
As things stand, the Hamas-run health ministry saidd that more than 4,650 have been killed in the Gaza Strip, with almost 40 percent of them said to be children.
They also claim that that thousands of buildings have been brought down. The Gaza authorities put the number of people displace by the hostilities at over a million, most of them civilians.
Succour is, however, trickling in for the displaced human population, with the third convoy of aids-conveying trucks, reported to be about a dozen, arriving the Gaza Strip from Egypt on Monday.
The trucks were said to have come in through Rafah, the Gaza Strip’s only crossing not under the control of Israeli forces.
Recall that the United States of America (USA), while brokering the entry of the aid convoys, assured of a “continued flow” of relief goods into the Gaza Strip.
It was gathered that as part of efforts to obliterate the Hamas, Israel had cut off water food, power and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip.
Fighting raged all through Sunday night with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu sticking to his guns, that Israel would “erase Hamas”.
Concerns are widening globally, as the air strikes are generally perceived to precede a full-scale ground invasion, for which Islamic forces, sympathetic to the Hamas might be tempted to join the war.
On the casualties, the Gaza’s Hamas-controlled government media office said that “more than 60 were martyred in the raids” during the night, including 17 in a single strike that hit a house in northern Gaza and at least 10 others were killed in new strikes on Monday morning.
On its part, the Israeli military said it had hit “over 320 military targets in the Gaza Strip” in the 24 hours up to Monday morning.
It said the targets “included tunnels containing Hamas terrorists, dozens of operational command centres” as well as “military compounds and observation posts” used by Islamic Jihad, another militant group.
A resident of Rafah, Mohammed Abu Sabalah was quoted by global media as saying that he returned home from the local mosque after dawn prayers Monday and that “a quarter of an hour later there was a bombing”.
“We couldn’t see anything because of the thick smoke,” he said, adding that “we thank God that we’ve emerged safe and sound” with “only a few windows and doors destroyed” in his house.
In readiness for the ground invasion, Israeli forces are massed around the Gaza Strip border. Local sources maintained that smaller units had already carried out limited incursions, targeting the Hamas and hoping to rescue hostages, whose number Israel now estimates at 222.
In one such operation, a 19-year-old Israeli soldier was killed and three others wounded, the army said, adding that the tank operation had aimed “to dismantle terror infrastructure… and locate missing persons and bodies”.
Tensions have been inflamed in the occupied West Bank, where 95 Palestinians have been killed in clashes involving Israeli security forces or settlers since fighting began in Gaza, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Ukraine has implemented restrictions on Telegram for government, military, and security personnel, citing national security threats associated with the app, founded by Russian-born Pavel Durov.
The National Security and Defence Council announced in a statement on it’s Facebook page that these limitations will affect all government agencies, military units, and critical infrastructure facilities.
The council emphasized that this measure is essential for protecting national security.
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It reads, “The National Security and Defence Council decided to restrict the use of Telegram in government agencies, military formations and critical infrastructure facilities. It is a “matter of national security.”
More to follow………….
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed strong disappointment over the recent increase in fuel prices, accusing President Bola Tinubu of betraying the labour movement after negotiations regarding a new national minimum wage.
At the opening of the ‘Minimum Wage Implementation Workshop, Southern Zone’ in Lagos, NLC President Joe Ajaero stated that the new petrol price has severely undermined the anticipated benefits of the forthcoming N70,000 minimum wage.
He emphasized that rising fuel costs are pushing workers into deeper hardship, counteracting any advantages the minimum wage was meant to provide.
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Ajaero argued that organized labor was misled into accepting the N70,000 minimum wage under the belief it would prevent further fuel price increases.
“We were betrayed by President Tinubu. The agreed minimum wage was intended to alleviate the effects of subsidy removal, but the new petrol prices have erased any potential benefits,” he said.
He highlighted the government’s strategy of using distractions and unfounded accusations to weaken union resolve.
“There is a tactic to distract us by alleging cybercrime and terrorism, which only allows the fuel price issue to persist,” Ajaero noted.
Recalling his discussions with President Tinubu during negotiations, Ajaero described the intense pressure labor leaders faced.
“The President gave us an ultimatum to accept a deal that would raise the minimum wage to N250,000 if we agreed to the fuel price hike. We rejected it, fully aware that it would worsen the economic situation for the country.”
Ajaero further criticized the government’s suggestion to compare fuel prices in neighboring West African countries, where petrol reportedly sells for N1,700.
“The President wanted us to consider prices in countries like Cameroon, but we made it clear that the real issue lies in unchecked smuggling at our borders,” he said.
In conclusion, Ajaero stressed the ongoing struggles faced by the labour movement, particularly against private sector employers who continue to resist the N70,000 minimum wage.
The National Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected President Bola Tinubu’s offer to sponsor a tour of West African countries to study their fuel prices, suggesting the proposal could be seen as an attempt to sway the union rather than a genuine effort to solve Nigeria’s fuel crisis.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero revealed this at a recent workshop in Lagos, where he criticized the government’s focus on foreign comparisons instead of addressing domestic fuel challenges.
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Tinubu had proposed the trip to show that fuel prices in neighboring countries, such as Cameroon, where prices are as high as N2,000 per liter, are significantly higher than in Nigeria.
However, Ajaero stressed that the government should prioritize tackling fuel smuggling across Nigeria’s borders, which he sees as a major factor driving the fuel price hike.
“Mr. President also offered to sponsor our trip to some West African countries, where the lowest petrol price is N1,700. He said in Cameroon, petrol is sold for N2,000, and none of these countries have refineries—they source their products from Nigeria,”Ajaero said.
The NLC President argued that securing Nigeria’s borders against fuel smuggling should be the government’s main focus, rather than funding international trips.
“We told him to secure the borders because that’s the reason those products are being smuggled. We declined the offer, knowing Nigerians would accuse us of being bribed, rather than understanding it was just for a tour to those West African states.” he added.
The union has remained firm in its stance that the government must take urgent steps to address the impact of rising fuel prices on Nigerian workers, who are bearing the brunt of the economic crisis.
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