Israeli forces dressed as civilian women and medics kill 3 militants in West Bank hospital

Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medics stormed a hospital Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meanwhile ruled out a military withdrawal from Gaza or the release of thousands of jailed militants — Hamas’ main two demands for any cease-fire — casting doubt on the latest efforts to end a war that has destabilized the broader Middle East.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli forces opened fire inside the Ibn Sina Hospital in the West Bank town of Jenin. A hospital spokesperson said there was no exchange of fire, indicating it was a targeted killing.

Israel’s military said the militants were using the hospital as a hideout, without providing evidence. It alleged that one of those targeted had transferred weapons and ammunition to others for a planned attack, purportedly inspired by Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.

Security camera footage from the hospital shows about a dozen undercover forces, most of them armed, wearing Muslim headscarves, hospital scrubs or white doctor’s coats. One carried a rifle in one arm and a folded wheelchair in the other.

NETANYAHU REJECTS HAMAS’ KEY DEMANDS

Netanyahu, speaking at an event elsewhere in the West Bank, denied reports of a possible cease-fire deal to end the war in Gaza and repeated his vow to keep fighting until “absolute victory” over Hamas.

“We will not end this war without achieving all of our goals,” said Netanyahu, who is under mounting pressure from families of the hostages and the wider public to reach a deal. “We will not withdraw the Israeli military from the Gaza Strip and we will not release thousands of terrorists,” he said.

On Tuesday, Hamas’ top political leader Ismail Haniyeh said the group was studying the latest terms for a deal, but that the priority was the “full withdrawal” of Israeli forces from Gaza and that any agreement should lead to a long-term cease-fire.

He said Hamas’ leadership had been invited to Cairo to continue talks. The militant group, which has reached lopsided exchange deals with Israel in the past, is expected to demand the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners — including high-profile militants — in exchange for the remaining hostages.

Qatar and Egypt, which mediate with Hamas, have held talks with Israel and the United States in recent days. U.S. officials said negotiators had made progress toward a deal, including the phased release of the remaining hostages over a two-month period and the entry of more humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The war in Gaza began when hundreds of Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting about 250 others. Over 100 were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Israel’s offensive has killed more than 26,700 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The ministry count does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, but it says about two-thirds of the dead are women and minors.

A strike on a residential building in the central town of Deir al-Balah on Tuesday killed 11 people, including four children, according to Associated Press reporters who saw the bodies at a hospital.

The war has leveled vast swaths of the tiny coastal enclave, displaced 85% of its population, and pushed a quarter of residents to starvation.

HOSPITALS HAVE BECOME BATTLEGROUNDS

Israel has come under heavy criticism for its raids on hospitals in Gaza, which have treated tens of thousands of Palestinians wounded in the war and provided critical shelter for displaced people.

Gaza’s health care system, which was already feeble before the war, is on the verge of collapse, buckling under the scores of patients as well as a lack of fuel and medical necessities because of Israeli restrictions and fighting in and near the facilities.

Israel says militants use hospitals as cover. The military says it has found underground tunnels in the vicinity of hospitals and located weapons and vehicles used in the Oct. 7 attack on hospital grounds.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said Israeli forces raided the Al-Amal Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Tuesday, where about 7,000 displaced people were sheltering.

The rescue service said Israeli tanks lined up outside the hospital were firing live ammunition and smoke grenades at the people inside. Raed al-Nims, a spokesperson for the aid group, said everyone was ordered to evacuate.

The Israeli military said without elaborating that its forces were operating in the area of the hospital but not inside it.

WEST BANK CRACKDOWN

Violence in the West Bank has also surged since Oct. 7, as Israel has cracked down on suspected militants, killing more than 380 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Most were killed in confrontations with Israeli forces during arrest raids or violent protests.

The military said that in Tuesday’s hospital raid, forces killed Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, who it said was planning an imminent attack. The two other men killed, brothers Basel and Mohammed Ghazawi, were hiding inside the hospital and were involved in attacks, the military said.

The army statement said Jalamneh was armed with a pistol but made no mention of an exchange of fire.

Hamas claimed the three men as members, calling the operation “a cowardly assassination.”

Hospital spokesperson Tawfiq al-Shobaki said there was no exchange of fire, and that Basel Ghazawi had been a patient since October, with partial paralysis.

“What happened is a precedent,” he said. “There was never an assassination inside a hospital. There were arrests and assaults, but not an assassination.”

Tuesday’s raid took place in the West Bank town of Jenin, long a bastion of armed struggle against Israel and the frequent target of Israeli raids, even before the war began.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war.

Israel withdrew troops and settlers from Gaza in 2005, but imposed a stifling blockade on the territory, along with Egypt, when Hamas came to power in a violent takeover in 2007. It maintains an open-ended occupation of the West Bank, where more than half a million Israelis now live in settlements.

The Palestinians claim these territories as part of their future independent state, hopes for which have increasingly dimmed since the war began.

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia has destroyed large share of Ukraine’s German tanks – media

Ukraine’s military has lost a substantial proportion of its Leopard 2 battle tanks donated by foreign states, with more than a quarter destroyed by Russian troops and the rest damaged beyond Kiev’s capacity to repair them, according to Foreign Affairs magazine.

While Western media reports touted the German-made tank as a game-changer after Berlin authorized the transfers last year, Kiev has since discovered they are “hardly invulnerable superweapons,” the outlet reported on Monday.

“Of the fewer than 100 Leopard 2s in Ukrainian service, at least 26 have been knocked out; others cannot be used due to repair and maintenance issues,” Foreign Affairs wrote, adding that Ukraine lacks the “extensive support infrastructure” needed to maintain its fleet.

The magazine also pointed to “rushed training” for Ukrainian tank crews by Western advisers, saying they had failed to employ “tight combined-arms coordination” to preserve armored vehicles under fire on the battlefield. The tank brigades were provided just five weeks of instruction, and were largely made up of “inexperienced formations” with little to no combat experience.

Leopard 2s were employed in the earlier phases of Kiev’s summer counteroffensive, but were “weakly supported” and “made little headway”against deep defensive lines established by Moscow. While Foreign Affairs argued that additional military aid “would have helped,” it added that Kiev’s performance has offered “little evidence that better tanks would have been decisive.”

Germany announced transfers of the Leopard to Ukraine in early 2023, after the United States pledged 31 of its own M1 Abrams battle tanks. Kiev received the first US tanks only in October, and they also failed to give it the edge on the battlefield, with Forbes recently reporting it was “not clear”what Ukraine was doing with the costly weapon system.

The outlet suggested the Abrams tanks haven’t been seen in combat as Kiev is busy “up-armoring them to resist attacks by Russia’s explosive-laden first-person-view drones,” even after a lengthy refurbishment process overseen by Washington prior to the first shipment. 

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, for his part, has argued that his country simply did not receive enough tanks to make a difference, noting that he could “hardly say that [the Abrams] play a particularly important role on the battlefield,” as “there are too few of them.”

Moscow has repeatedly warned that deliveries of weapons to Kiev by the US and its allies will not prevent it from achieving the goals of its military operation in Ukraine but only increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have stressed that any Western-supplied hardware will be destroyed, no matter the type.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia not handing over alleged POWs bodies from crashed plane

A Ukrainian military spy official said on Tuesday that Russia was showing no willingness to return the bodies of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war Moscow says died in a military plane crash in Belgorod region last week.

Kyiv has said Moscow has provided no evidence to support its assertion that 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers were aboard the Russian military transport plane, which crashed last Wednesday in Belgorod in Russia near the border.

Moscow says the plane was shot down by Ukraine on its way to a prisoner swap; Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces shot it down.

"It's a statement from Russia that our prisoners were there, and so far we can analyse only their words. Now there is no readiness to transfer the bodies from the other side," Andriy Yusov, the spokesperson, was quoted as saying by Suspilne broadcaster.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said last week that body parts were being collected and removed for genetic testing. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday he had no information on what would happen to the remains or whether they would be handed to Ukraine.

The Russian Investigative Committee has released footage from the site showing a single body in a snowy field as well as items of clothing. Reuters verified the location of the crash site seen in one of the videos but was unable to independently verify the date or other details.

Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets told Reuters last week that an unofficial list of Ukrainian POW casualties circulated in Russian media after the crash included soldiers who had already returned in a previous swap.

RT/Reuters

I doubt you can find many Nigerian youths and their parents participating in any social event and not checking their cell phones within five minutes. Forget it. They even answer phone calls during the Sunday service. When I say that I have seen a woman terminating the asr, the late afternoon prayer, to attend to a customer who wants to buy a sachet of water, don’t treat it as a joke. Muslim men routinely abandon the maghrib mid-way to answer a phone call. Someone on WhatsApp can be laughing hysterically in front of you, and you will think he has won the lotto until you know he is just enjoying “shedibalabala”.

“No dulling moment” in Nigeria is not just an assertion made from exaggerative and wild imputations but a realistic description of the temporal evolvements of the nation. It is often from one “cruise” to the other. So, the Nigerian social media space lives on trends, cruises, and challenges that get people going. This year started with “no gree for anybody,” and quite a few slang have followed. These days, the youth seem to be tuned to whatever the media dictates and reflect on the social behaviours in the past few years. The trends in Nigeria transmit to international phenomena. Out of the trends come different social media challenges of different levels. They are sometimes literally challenging and also challenging to the physical, mental, and intellectual health of the viewers as well as the cultural values of the country, and they are effortlessly portrayed on a social media platform- social media challenges.

One cannot but ponder on the saying that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop when social media challenges come to bear. So, we must also wonder if the proliferation of participation in these social media challenges is a manifestation of devil-infested minds or an attempt to not be idle. The confoundment would be more understandable when you try to classify or conceive explanations or justifications for these challenges. It would be quite easy to think of them as frivolities; what other explanation should be given to a challenge where people lick toilets or a challenge where empty crates are stacked really high, and people attempt to walk on them without falling – mostly, the opposite happens, or where people bath themselves in drinks, oil, food and even go as far as consuming harmful products to showcase a social media challenge. It is disturbing to watch Nigerians waste food that many homeless and middle-class Nigerians value in this harsh economy. The rationale behind using food and drinks to bathe yourself just to trend is infuriating. The worst is even the consumption of harmful products in the name of challenges, trends, and cruises. These are the same youths that would say Sapa is choking, or should I send my aza for urgent 2k? The cry for help becomes lucid when the corresponding action depicts otherwise. In what world does wasting food or performing dangerous health risky challenges show your need for money, or would the urgent 2k help pay your hospital bill when you are badly injured?

Well, while many of the challenges are frivolous and often devoid of any importance, they sometimes serve as tools for social satires. For instance, the “door opening challenge” was to satirize the cost of governance in the country and the overbearing number of unnecessary employees in the government. It connotes the exuberant lifestyles of the politicians. This challenge was inspired by the entourage of Nasir El Rufai, where someone opened the door for someone who would open the door for the person who would open the door for him. The challenge went viral, and many subscribed to it. Another was Babatunde Fashola’s discovery of a camcorder at the site of the Lekki Tollgate “massacre” the day after the incident, despite the alleged sweeping of the site by security personnel, and it was only the minister who saw it. This created a spur where #FasholaChallenge started.

Another of these series was the #Balabluebulaba challenge, which was to mock Tinubu’s alleged sickness and incoherence in speech. It was more like a political response to the candidacy of the President and became largely subscribed to on the internet. The different political challenges never stopped; they either tried to reenact the ridiculous attitudes of the Nigerian government officials or mimicked their idiosyncrasies.

Where challenges are not created, trends are built around some of the acts to be criticized. It could be a reenactment of a police officer trying to extort from people or any government official at all. There was a period when an NSCDC official could not give the address of the Corp’s website, and he also continuously kept talking about some Oga at the Top. The incidence became a phenomenon, and the phrase “Oga at the Top” further became a slang term that was even printed on clothes at that time.

Some other challenges really pushed some talents out. We have seen people show their trades and talents through some of these challenges and trends and show the world that they are not “lazy Nigerians” anyway. This is followed by hashtags across all social media platforms that would allow everyone to show what they are good at or be specific about their trade. The throwback challenges of different types and measures are also not bad ideas. It could sometimes show that, with time and effort, people’s experience could be better.

The “ice bucket challenge”, also known as the “ASL challenge”, is a trend where a cold bucket of ice water is poured on someone. It was started to create awareness and donations for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis disease and the “Be like Ngozi challenge,” which started to appreciate Ngozi Okonjo-Nweala following her appointment as the first female and African to be the director general of the World Trade Organization.

Sometimes, the challenges and trends get even worse, and people lose their lives because of it. Well, one could pretend to justify the challenges on the belief that “you only live once, YOLO.” But jokes on those who would rather choose to endanger their lives or people in the name of joining the trends. The “crate challenge” choked global Twitter, with many compromising their health and lives just to attract some impressions. The list of some of these ridiculous challenges that entered the country through social media is endless. Someone posted something about slapping a soldier in Nigeria as a challenge; those who tried it undoubtedly “collected.” In 2021, after Joeboy released his single “Alcohol,” it followed with “Alcohol Challenge,” where people used it to promote ilicit substances and injected unhealthy substances in their bodies on TikTok.

Aside from laziness, some of the challenges are trends that only invite funny displays and, sometimes, at the extreme, unintelligence. Although one must state that it is good to relieve one’s stress with some fun-filled challenges, some individuals must know their limits. The “don’t leave me challenge” is a trend where a person says a joke and walks away while another shouts don’t leave me – the lamer the joke, the better. Well, skit-making and comedy are now becoming the new “catch-outs” in Nigeria. Famous is also the “Charlie Charlie challenge,” where people try to conjure Charlie Charlie, a supposed spirit, to answer their questions using paper and a pencil. As creepy as this is, one would think that spiritual people like Nigerians would refrain from conjuring spirits, expecting it to respond.

A number of the challenges are outrightly disturbing as they question moral principles prevalent in society and attract sensitive and sexually rated content. The “drop challenge,” “silhouette challenge,” “wife material challenge,” “buss it challenge,” “shedibalabala”, and a lot more are in the same category of the “hype man trend” where women sexually shake “what their mama gave them.” These videos are extremely provocative because they feature women mostly shaking their backsides in all forms and styles. These challenges have encouraged women to be innovative in inventing new styles of “twerking.” The “silhouette” caps it because women are seen sexually dancing naked behind a red light or with a filter that makes them look naked.

This class of challenges and trends questions the social fight against the objectification of women folks in Nigeria. The Nigerian culture and social norms dictate integrity and modesty for all sexes and do not support the instrumentalization of women to make them objects of flirtation. In fact, with the apparent disorientation about the sexual rights of people, one should be careful in how one feeds the plagues of sexual stereotyping.

The challenges sometimes come from the misconception of the value of women. Many have qualified and quantified the excess of women from their physical appearance with big backsides, busty fronts, waists, and cleavages. Many more of these challenges have been on the rise in social media platforms, with varying degrees and types.

One would sometimes wonder if there is a prize for participation or if a body is watching the challenges to pick the best to reward. No! All is just in the name of not missing out, attracting more views and traffic to one’s page, or just following the trend without missing out on the cruises. This is despite the health hazards or reputation hazards that are related to them.

Well, I am not a killjoy, but more limitations must be built around these idiosyncrasies. Where trends and challenges are likely to cause serious health hazards and pick on people, social media regulation in that respect would not be out of discussion. However, while the fun may continue, it should also be made important that there are good causes, many enough to challenge others with. We could start a challenge to feed five people today or say something nice. Do not get me wrong; challenges do not need to be meaningful, logical, or intelligent; at least, Nigerian society most of the time needs comic relief from the stiffening conditions of the nation, but some ground rules must be set when those challenges or trends tend to hurt others.

As a lifelong advocate for mindfulness and eastern philosophy, I’ve always been fascinated by the age-old advice, “Work harder and you’ll succeed.” But after years of study, reflection, and personal experience, a caveat to this mantra started to reveal itself.

Let me be clear: I’m not against hard work. But the notion that success is purely a derivative of relentless effort is something I’ve come to question. And so, I set out on a mission to debunk this widely accepted belief and find out what truly leads to success.

Over the years, I’ve written extensively on human potential and even penned a book on mindfulness. My background gave me a unique perspective to challenge this conventional wisdom. So, I decided to dig deeper, tapping into my own experiences, research findings, and insights from some of the most successful people in various fields.

Now, fasten your seatbelts because what I found may surprise you. It turns out that ‘working harder’ isn’t the be-all and end-all of success – there’s another crucial element at play. 

Stepping off the hamster wheel

It struck me one day, in the midst of a 14-hour work marathon, that I was on a fast track to burnout. Feeling exhausted yet unfulfilled, I began to question the mantra that had driven me for years: “Work harder and you’ll succeed.”

I decided to take a step back and reassess my approach. I realized that it wasn’t about working harder but working smarter. I needed to shift my focus from quantity to quality. It was time for a change.

The surprising results of working smarter, not harder

After implementing these changes, I quickly noticed a profound shift. I was no longer feeling constantly exhausted or overwhelmed. Instead, I was more relaxed, focused, and surprisingly, more productive than ever before.

My work didn’t suffer; rather, it flourished. I was able to produce high-quality work because I was giving my brain the rest it needed to be creative and efficient. I was finishing tasks quicker and with more precision because I was present and fully engaged in what I was doing.

But it wasn’t just about work. My personal life improved as well. I was happier, healthier, and had more time to spend with loved ones and on activities that genuinely brought me joy.

The most unexpected result? Success followed naturally. And it wasn’t the ruthless, hard-fought variety. It was a fulfilled, balanced kind of success that felt sustainable and truly rewarding.

Before embarking on this journey, I held a firm belief that success meant constant hustle and sacrifice. Little did I know that by shifting my approach from working harder to working smarter, not only would my quality of life improve drastically, but success would take on a new and more satisfying meaning. Now, let’s delve into what I used to believe about this process and how it contrasts with the reality that unfolded.

Expectations vs Reality: A surprising revelation

My initial expectation was that loosening my grip on hard work would lead to a decline in productivity and success. I equated less work with less progress. I thought, “If I’m not pushing myself to the limit, surely I’ll fall behind.”

But the reality was shockingly different. By working smarter, not harder, I was able to maintain – even increase – my productivity. I was accomplishing just as much, if not more, without burning myself out.

And success? It didn’t diminish as I feared. Instead, it evolved. It became less about how much I could achieve and more about how fulfilled and balanced I felt. My definition of success shifted from a quantifiable output to a measure of personal well-being and satisfaction.

This surprising revelation made me realize that our societal narrative around hard work and success needs a serious update. As it turns out, the key isn’t in working harder, but smarter, healthier, and more mindfully.

Embracing a smarter approach to work and success

If you’re feeling stuck in the relentless cycle of hard work, remember that it’s okay to step off the hamster wheel. Just like I did, you too can replace the mantra of “work harder” with “work smarter.”

Start by redefining what success means to you. Is it simply about achieving more, or is it about feeling fulfilled, balanced, and content? Shift your focus from quantity to quality. Remember, it’s not about how much you do, but how well you do it.

Don’t forget to prioritize your well-being. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Regular exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep are vital for maintaining your physical and mental health.

And finally, embrace mindfulness. Being present in each moment can significantly improve your productivity and overall job satisfaction.

Remember, success isn’t just about relentless effort. It’s about working in a way that aligns with your well-being and personal satisfaction. So take a breath, reassess your approach, and start working smarter, not harder. You might be surprised at how this shift can redefine your perception of success and improve your life overall.

Taking a holistic view

As we’ve journeyed together in challenging the conventional wisdom of “work harder and you’ll succeed,” it’s important to remember that this isn’t just about redefining success or working smarter. It’s about embracing a more holistic approach to life.

• Embrace Mindfulness: Being present in each moment has not only improved my productivity but also increased my overall job satisfaction.
• Prioritize Self-Improvement: This experience has taught me that continuous learning and personal growth are critical to success.
• Value Mental Well-being: Prioritizing mental health has been a game-changer. Success is not just about achieving goals, it’s also about feeling balanced and fulfilled.

In essence, it’s less about the hours you put into your work and more about how you approach your work and life in general. And remember, this isn’t just my experience. Studies have shown that mindfulness, self-improvement, and mental well-being all play a crucial role in achieving success.

If you’re looking for more insights on how to integrate these principles into your life, I recommend checking out my book. It offers practical applications of Buddhist principles for a fulfilling modern life, focusing on living with less ego and more purpose.

So, as we wrap up this conversation, remember that your path to success may look different from others. And that’s okay. It’s about finding what works best for you, staying true to yourself, and recognizing that success is not just about working harder; it’s about working smarter and living better.

The Vessel

Naira dropped to a record low against the dollar on the thinly traded official market on Friday, FMDQ Exchange data showed on Monday, as the currency swung widely to overshoot the unofficial parallel market rate.

The naira fell as low as 1,421 to the dollar, during trading on Friday, FMDQ data showed, compared with around 1,400 naira quoted on the parallel market. The currency later closed at 891.90 naira on the official market.

The latest fall occurred after central bank Governor Olayemi Cardoso last Wednesday said the bank was trying to improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

Kyle Chapman, FX markets analyst at London-based Ballinger & Co. said the naira has overtaken the record low level it hit on the parallel market which could hamper the influx of capital needed to stabilise the exchange rate.

"The downwards spiral is becoming self-perpetuating at this point. The further it falls, the less investors want to enter Nigeria, and the deeper the risk premium embedded into the naira rate," Chapman said.

The naira's official exchange rate has been drifting towards the parallel market level as the central bank is yet to clear outstanding amounts owed in forward deals, worsening a shortage of foreign-currency in the West African nation.

Reuters

Civil society groups, under the aegis of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, said 17,469 Nigerians were abducted under the Muhammadu Buhari and Bola Tinubu administrations from 2019 to date.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Monday, the Civil Society Joint Action Group, revealed that 2,423 persons had been killed, while 1,872 others had been abducted since the inauguration of President Tinubu.

Speaking on behalf of the group, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said insecurity had persisted over the last three administrations, with 24,816 Nigerians killed and 15,597 persons abducted in the last administration of President Buhari, between 2019 and 2023.

Out of the total number of 17,469 kidnapped from 2019 and to date, 90 per cent of the cases were recorded under Buhari, while 10 per cent have been recorded under Tinubu.

Punch

Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Monday killed two Ekiti State monarchs on the Ipao-Oke Ako Road.

The gunmen killed the Onimojo of Imojo in the Oye Local Government Area, Oba Olatunde Olusola, and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti in the Ikole Local Government Area, Oba Babatunde Ogunsakin, while the Alara of Ara Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Fatoba in the Ikole Local Government Area, escaped.

Sources said the traditional rulers were returning from a function in Kogi State when their vehicles ran into the suspected kidnappers, who had laid an ambush on the road.

According to sources, while the bandits chased the Alara in a bid to kidnap him, the two other monarchs also attempted to escape but were shot by the gunmen.

A source explained, “I called my father to inform him that I was coming to the village tomorrow (Tuesday) but he said I should not come because our monarch was killed by some unknown gunmen.

 “He told me the Alara of Ara-Ekiti, the Olumojo of Imojo-Ekiti and the Elesun of Esun Ekiti were coming from a function when their vehicle was accosted by the gunmen who shot at them.

“He told me that Elesun and Olumojo were hit by the bullets fired by the gunmen and they died instantly while Alara escaped.”

Chairman of the Ajoni Local Council Development Area, Micheal Ogungbemi, in whose domain the incident took place, said that the dead bodies of the two obas had been recovered from the scene and taken to a mortuary.

The council boss explained that information indicated that the traditional rulers, who were coming from Kogi State, were attacked in the Oke Ako area.

LG chairman speaks

Ogungbemi said, “I have mobilised the Divisional Police Officer, the Rapid Respond Squad, and Amotekun Corps to the place. We have recovered the corpses of the kabiyesis to the hospital. The perpetrators are bandits because Kabiyesi Alara saw them.

“Those killed were Kabiyesi Elesun and Kabiyesi Onimojo. They were shot at and they died instantly. Kabiyesi Alara escaped.

“They were travelling in a car; Kabiyesi Alara drove the car. When they ran into them, they chased Kabiyesi Alara to the forest. Kabiyesi Elesun and Kabiyesi Onimojo were trying to escape from the scene when the bandits coming from behind shot at them.

“The monarchs had driven past the checkpoint of the local security outfit when the incident happened. The Alara, upon escape, informed the local security of the development. The bandits were carrying sophisticated arms.”

The Onikun of Ikun Ekiti and Secretary of Majority Obas of Ekiti Land, Oba Olatunde David Olusola, who described the incident as unfortunate, said the two deceased monarchs were active members of the association.

Olusola said, “There is a need for government to rise, we have been paying lip service to the issue of security. We need to localise the security system and involve traditional rulers. The government must sit down immediately with traditional rulers to fashion out ways to secure our communities. We know what to do.”

When contacted about the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti State Command, Sunday Abutu, said it was a case of suspected murder.

“It’s a suspected case of murder but details will be communicated as soon as it’s available. Necessary action is underway as the tactical and intelligence teams have been deployed in that axis,” he stated.

Punch

Federal Government of Nigeria has expressed its sadness over the pronouncement by the Military authority in the Republic of Niger indicating that the Republics of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn membership of their countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In a statement on Monday by Francisca K. Omayuli, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the FG said for half a century, ECOWAS had worked to promote peace, prosperity and democracy in the region.

The military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger had on Sunday withdrawn from the ECOWAS “with immediate effect”.

However, the statement from the foreign affairs ministry, said: “Nigeria stands with ECOWAS to emphasise due process and shared commitment to protect and strengthen the rights and welfare of all citizens of Member States.

“Nigeria has worked sincerely and in good faith to reach out to all members of the ECOWAS family to resolve the difficulties being faced.

“It is now clear that those seeking to quit the Community do not share that same good faith,” said the statement.

The FG accused the unelected leaders of denying their people the sovereign right to make fundamental choices over their freedom of movement, freedom to trade and freedom to choose their leaders.

The FG however expressed its desire to engage with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger “so that all the people of the region can continue to enjoy the economic benefits and democratic values that ECOWAS embraces.”

Nigeria further appeals to the International Community to continue to extend its support for ECOWAS and the vision of closer partnership, cooperation and integration.

Daily Trust

Israel military operation destroys a Gaza cemetery. Israel says Hamas used the site to hide a tunnel

The Islamic cemetery in southern Gaza was demolished, graves excised from the earth. A skull with no teeth rested atop the sandy, churned rubble.

The neighborhood of Bani Suheila in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, which soldiers showed foreign journalists Saturday, was obliterated, transformed by the military’s search for underground Hamas tunnels. An Associated Press journalist saw a destroyed mosque and — where the cemetery had once been – a 140-meter-(yard)-wide pit that gave way to what the army called a Hamas attack tunnel underneath. The military said Monday that combat engineers had demolished part of the network, releasing a video showing massive explosions in the area.

As Israel moves forward with a ground and air campaign in Gaza that health officials in the besieged enclave say has claimed over 26,000 Palestinian lives, the military’s destruction of holy sites has drawn staunch criticism from Palestinians and rights groups, who say the offensive is also an assault on cultural heritage. Under international law, cemeteries and religious sites receive special protection — and destroying them could be considered a war crime.

Israel says Hamas uses such sites as military cover, removing them of these protections. It says there is no way to accomplish its military goal of defeating Hamas without finding the tunnels, where they say the militants have built command and control centers, transported weapons and hidden some of the 130 hostages it is believed to be holding. They say digging up the tunnels involves unavoidable collateral damage to sacrosanct spaces.

“We’re not naive anymore,” said Israeli Dan Goldfus, who led journalists around the site Saturday.

Israel has made similar arguments in operations in and around Gaza hospitals.

Goldfus brought journalists inside a tunnel shaft he said stretched underneath the mosque and the cemetery. The journalists walked down a long concrete tunnel that branched in multiple directions and arrived at a small collection of rooms soldiers alleged were used by Hamas militants as a command and control center.

It included three domed rooms — one with four chairs, one with a desk, and a kitchen with empty cans of beans and a spice rack. A military commander said the tunnel, which contained a power transformer, fans, piping with wires and light switches, stretched 800 meters (yards) and was connected to a larger tunnel network in southern Gaza.

The army says it has found similar warrens of rooms in tunnels all over the Gaza Strip. It alleged the quarters shown to journalists Saturday included the office of a Hamas commander, an operations room, and living quarters for senior members of Hamas. It said the tunnel was used to plan attacks against the military.

The demolished cemetery, according to a satellite analysis, appears to have been the Shuhadaa Bani Suheila graveyard.

Since Israel declared war against Hamas on Oct. 7, it has repeatedly accused the Islamic militant group of using Gaza’s civilian sites as cover for military use. It says that military operations — from raiding hospitals to digging up cemeteries and destroying holy sites — are necessary to dismantle the militants’ command centers and bunkers.

On Oct. 7, Hamas militants poured into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and dragging some 250 hostages back to Gaza. Over 100 hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive on Gaza has displaced most of the 2.3 million population. According to a U.N. monitor, the military has damaged 161 mosques in the course of its operations. The agency said it has not tracked the number of cemeteries that were damaged.

On Saturday, Goldfus swept his gloved hand across the moonscape surrounding him. The golden dome of the mosque was cracked and off-kilter, slumping down onto its shattered walls.

Goldfus said that Israeli forces destroyed the mosque after militants fired at them from within its grounds. Footage circulated on Israeli media showed soldiers using explosives to blow out the mosque’s first floor walls, collapsing it.

UNESCO has called on both Hamas and Israel to refrain from attacking culturally important sites.

Under the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty that established the International Criminal Court, cemeteries and mosques receive special protection as “civilian property.” The destruction of these sites can be considered a war crime, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Israel argues the sites lose their protection when they are used for military purposes, and when the operational gain from targeting them outweighs the loss of civilian life and infrastructure.

Goldfus said that forces had found other traces of Hamas activity in the area, from confiscated AK-47s to a map of the border between Gaza and Israel that he said Hamas might have used for the Oct. 7 attack.

He said destroying the mosque and digging up the cemetery was integral to locating some 60 tunnel shafts in the area. The journalists were shown only one shaft.

Dismantling the tunnel network, Goldfus said, posed a “riddle” to forces. He said it is difficult to operate in the area without harming sacred sites and even human remains.

“We try to move them aside as much as possible,” he said when asked about the excavated bodies. “But remember, when we are fighting in this place, and your enemy is flanking you again and again and again, and using these compounds to hide in, there’s not much you can do.”

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian shelling kills four in northern Ukraine, one in devastated Avdiivka

Russian shelling in northern Ukraine killed four people in two villages in Sumy region near the Russian border, while a woman died in a fresh assault on the devastated eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, local officials said.

The local administration in Sumy region said three people died in mortar fire in the village of Znov-Novohorodske. A fourth was killed in another village to the southeast.

Reuters could not verify the reports, but officials in Sumy region report daily attacks from Russian forces.

In Avdiivka, a Ukrainian-held town near the front line, public broadcaster Suspilne said a woman died after suffering serious injuries in mid-afternoon shelling.

Avdiivka was seized briefly in 2014 by pro-Russian forces who captured large swathes of territory in eastern Ukraine, but was recaptured by Ukrainian troops who built fortifications.

It has remained in Ukrainian hands in Russia's slow drive through eastern Ukraine despite fierce onslaughts since mid-October. Virtually none of the town's buildings remains intact.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in its evening report said Ukrainian forces had repelled 13 Russian attacks in and around Avdiivka in the past 24 hours.

Military officials have spoken in recent days of increased Russian military activity on long stretches of the 1,000-km-long (600-mile) front line through eastern and southern Ukraine.

On the southern front, military spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk told a briefing that Ukrainian forces were extending the foothold they secured late October on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River despite intensified Russian attacks.

Russia forces advanced through Kherson region in the days after the February 2022 invasion, but by the end of the year had abandoned the region's main town and the Dnipro's west bank.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian army currently numbers 880,000 personnel, Zelensky discloses to German media

The Ukrainian army currently has a force level numbering about 880,000 troops, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with Germany’s ARD broadcaster.

"We have 880,000 troops; that’s an army of almost a million," he said, when asked about the army’s force strength. "Besides, we currently have a workforce of 30 million people, even though I can’t provide the exact number. Some 6.5 million to 7.5 million people have moved abroad, and again, I can’t give the accurate figure," Zelensky added.

Earlier, the Ukrainian president said that the Ukrainian ground forces were 600,000 strong in December 2023.

In February 2022, the Ukrainian armed forces numbered about 260,000, including 250,000 ground troops.

Reuters/Tass