Israel searches for traces of Hamas in raid of key Gaza hospital packed with patients

Israeli troops on Wednesday stormed into Gaza’s largest hospital, searching for traces of Hamas inside and beneath the facility, where newborns and hundreds of other patients have suffered for days without electricity and other basic necessities. The forces also pressed on with their wider ground offensive.

Details from the daylong raid remained sketchy, but officials from Israel and Gaza presented different accounts of what was happening at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City: The Israeli army released video showing soldiers carrying boxes labeled as “baby food” and “medical supplies,” while health officials talked of terrified staff and patients as troops moved through the buildings.

After encircling Shifa for days, Israel faced pressure to prove its claim that Hamas had turned the hospital into a command center and used patients, staff and civilians sheltering there to provide cover for its militants. The allegation is part of Israel’s broader accusation that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields. Israel released video late Wednesday of weapons it said it found in one building, but so far its search showed no signs of tunnels or a sophisticated command center.

Hamas and Gaza health officials deny militants operate in Shifa — a hospital that employs some 1,500 people and has more than 500 beds, according to the Palestinian news agency. Palestinians and rights groups say Israel has recklessly endangered civilians as it seeks to eradicate Hamas.

As Israel tightens its hold on northern Gaza, leaders have talked of expanding the ground operation into the south to root out Hamas. Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have already crowded into the territory’s south, where a worsening fuel shortage threatens to paralyze the delivery of humanitarian services and shut down mobile phone and internet service.

The war between Israel and Hamas erupted after the militant group killed some 1,200 people and seized around 240 captives in an Oct. 7 attack that shattered Israelis’ sense of security.

Israeli airstrikes have since killed more than 11,200 people, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah, which coordinates with the ministry branch in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, with most believed to be buried under the rubble. The ministry’s count does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths.

ISRAELI RAID INTO SHIFA

Israeli forces launched their raid into the large Shifa compound around 2 a.m. and remained on the grounds after nightfall Wednesday, with tanks stationed outside and snipers on nearby buildings, Munir al-Boursh, a senior official with Gaza’s Health Ministry inside the hospital, told The Associated Press. It was not possible to independently assess the situation inside.

Al-Boursh said that for hours, the troops ransacked the basement and other buildings, including those housing the emergency and surgery departments, and searched the grounds for tunnels. Troops questioned and face-screened patients, staff and people sheltering in the facility, he said, adding that he did not know if any were detained.

“Patients, women and children are terrified,” he told the AP by phone.

Neither the Palestinians nor the military reported any clashes inside the hospital. The military said its troops killed four militants outside the hospital at the start of the operation. Throughout days of fighting in the surrounding streets in previous days, there were no reports of militants firing from inside Shifa.

The Israeli military said it was carrying out a “precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area in the hospital,” and that its soldiers were accompanied by medical teams bringing in incubators and other supplies.

It added that forces were also searching for hostages. The plight of the captives, who include men, women and children, has galvanized Israeli support for the war. Families and supporters of the hostages are holding a protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The video released by the military from inside Shifa showed three duffel bags it said it found hidden around an MRI lab, each containing an assault rifle, grenades and Hamas uniforms, as well as a closet that contained a number of assault rifles without ammunition clips. A laptop was also discovered and taken for study. The AP could not independently verify the Israeli claims that the weapons were found inside the hospital.

“These weapons have absolutely no business being inside a hospital,” Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said in the video, adding that he believed the material was “just the top of the iceberg.” The military said the search was continuing, but it did not immediately show any sign of tunnels or an extensive military center.

The raid drew condemnation from the U.N., Jordan and the West Bank’s Palestinian Authority, which called it a violation of international law. Separately, the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses and corridors” throughout Gaza after four failed attempts to respond to the Israel-Hamas war.

In other developments, U.S. President Joe Biden said he believes the war will stop only when Hamas’ ability to kill and injure Israelis is degraded. He also said he urged Israel to exercise caution in its military operations at the hospital.

“I think it’s going to stop when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder,” Biden said after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperative conference in California.

Biden said he discussed with Israelis their need to “be incredibly careful” as they worked to clear the hospital.

At one point, tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing Israeli bombardment were sheltering at the hospital, but most left in recent days as the fighting drew closer. The fate of premature babies at the hospital has drawn particular concern.

The Health Ministry said 40 patients, including three babies, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of fuel Saturday.

There was no immediate word on the condition of another 36 babies the ministry said earlier were at risk of dying because there is no power for incubators.

Hours before Israel’s raid, the United States said its own intelligence indicated militants have used Shifa and other hospitals — and tunnels beneath them — to support military operations and hold hostages.

Under international humanitarian law, hospitals can lose their protected status if combatants use them for military purposes. But civilians must be given ample time to flee, and any attack must be proportional to the military objective — putting the burden on Israel to show it was a big enough military target to justify the siege against it.

A TRICKLE OF FUEL FOR AID WORKERS

Conditions in southern Gaza have been deteriorating as bombardment continues to level buildings. Residents say bread is scarce and supermarket shelves are bare. Families cook on wood fires for lack of fuel. Central electricity and running water have been out for weeks across Gaza.

After refusing to allow fuel into Gaza since the war’s start, saying it would be diverted to Hamas, Israeli defense officials early Wednesday let in some 24,000 liters (6,340 gallons).

The fuel will only be used for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, to continue bringing limited supplies of food and medicine from Egypt for the more than 600,000 people sheltering in U.N.-run schools and other facilities in the south.

The fuel cannot be used for hospitals or to desalinate water, said Thomas White, UNRWA’s director in Gaza. The amount is the equivalent of “only 9% of what we need daily to sustain lifesaving activities,” he said.

The Palestinian telecom company Paltel, meanwhile, said it was relying on batteries to keep Gaza’ mobile and internet network running, and that it expected services to halt later Wednesday. Gaza has experienced three previous mass communication outages since the ground invasion.

LOOKING SOUTH

Israeli troops have extended their control across northern Gaza. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday the ground operation will eventually “include both the north and south. We will strike Hamas wherever it is.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the plans, saying Israel’s goal is “a complete victory over Hamas in the south and the return of our hostages.”

If Israeli troops move south, it is not clear where Gaza’s population can flee, as Egypt refuses to allow a mass transfer onto its soil.

 

AP

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian group says more than 30,000 troops have died in Russia's invasion

A Ukrainian civic group said it has confirmed the deaths of nearly 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers since Russia's February 2022 invasion by using open sources, and puts the total toll at more than 30,000.

Kyiv treats its losses as a state secret and officials say disclosing the figure could harm its war effort. A report in August by the New York Times, citing anonymous U.S. officials, put the Ukrainian death toll at close to 70,000.

Writing in the Ukrainian journal Tyzhden, historian Yaroslav Tynchenko and volunteer Herman Shapovalenko said Shapovalenko's Book of Memory project had confirmed 24,500 combat and non-combat deaths using open sources.

The real figure was likely higher, they added, noting that many of the 15,000 troops listed as missing were likely dead.

Reuters could not independently verify the figures.

"Obviously, the 24,500 names are not the final number of dead (deceased), but by our assessment it is no less than 70%," the authors wrote. "That is, the real number of dead (deceased) in combat and non-combat situations is more than 30,000 people."

Applying a 1:3 ratio, the authors also estimated that up to 100,000 troops had been wounded.

A spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry told Reuters he could not comment on the figures.

The Book of Memory project, which has tracked Ukraine's war dead since Russia's first invasion in 2014, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tynchenko, in a message through his employer, the National Military History Museum of Ukraine, declined to comment on the article.

The article, published late on Tuesday, comes as Ukraine increasingly faces the prospect of fighting a long war with Russia.

Ukraine's top general wrote in the Economist earlier this month that the conflict was becoming static and attritional. A Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June has made only incremental gains in the south and east.

The authors of the Tyzhden article said it was crucial to balance various estimates reported in Western media, which they described as given to "manipulation", with verifiable data.

"Should we talk about this topic in Ukraine during the war? We believe so, but only in terms of concrete data and open and trustworthy sources," they wrote.

Russia has also not disclosed the number of its war dead.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

West sees Ukraine conflict lasting five more years – media

A growing number of Western leaders have reportedly conceded that the Russia-Ukraine conflict may drag on for another five years, stuck in a “stalemate” that neither side is capable of shattering.

The crisis has already strained the West’s military capacity amid struggles to produce enough artillery shells, the magazine said, and the Israel-Hamas war creates further stress. 

“As time goes on, there will be trade-offs as certain key systems are diverted to Israel,” Mark Cancian, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, wrote last month. “A few systems that Ukraine needs for its counteroffensive may not be available in the numbers that Ukraine would like.”

Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, raised eyebrows when he told The Economist earlier this month that the conflict with Russia had reached a stalemate. Although officials in US President Joe Biden’s administration were troubled by Zaluzhny’s candor, they agreed with his assessment, the New York Times reported last week.

The Ukraine crisis has revealed how “meager” Western armories are, The Economist claimed. Even as the US ramps up its output of 155mm artillery shells, its production in 2025 will be lower than Russia’s in 2024, the magazine added. If the overlapping conflicts in Ukraine and Israel both drag on, Washington and its allies would be hard-pressed to cope with another crisis.

“If the war in Ukraine stays an open sore in Europe and the Middle East remains ablaze, the West will struggle gravely should another serious crisis erupt,” the outlet warned. “One risk is that adversaries simply capitalize on chaos elsewhere for their own ends. If America were bogged down in a Pacific war, for instance, Iran would surely feel more confident of getting away with a dash for nuclear weapons.”

The magazine called the situation a “new world disorder” and suggested that Russia and China see “opportunities” in the growing threats. “Even more worrying is the prospect of active collusion. European military planners give weight to the possibility that Russia might conduct menacing maneuvers during a crisis over Taiwan in order to divert American attention and tie down its allies, preventing them from lending a hand in Asia.”

Concentrations of crises have occurred in past eras, The Economist said, “but America and its allies cannot intervene as easily or cheaply as they once did.” That’s partly because the Ukraine crisis has “cemented” the partnership between Russia and China, and the two countries are working more closely together, according to the magazine.

 

Reuters/RT

Today is the 119th birthday of Nnamdi Azikiwe, Owelle-Osowa-Anya of Onicha, affectionately called Zik of Africa, a remarkable figure in Nigerian and African journalism and political history.

As the world marks Zik’s 119th posthumous birthday today, tribute must be paid to an iconic tall image who left an indelible mark on the nation’s sand of time.

Azikiwe's life and contributions as a journalist, politician and statesman are not only worthy of celebration but the story about Zik should be religiously told and transferred to generations unborn, in remembrance of a Great Icon.

He is among the central figures in the Nigerian independence struggle which earned him the title of the "father of Nigerian nationalism."

A Nigerian by all metrics. Zik, a full-blooded Igbo, from Onicha in Anambra State, was born in Zungeru, in today's Niger State on November 16, 1904, and died on 11 May 1996 at age 91, in Enugu State.

Zik’s father, Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe, was born in 1879 and died on March 3, 1958. His mother, Rachel Chinwe Ogbenyeanu Azikiwe, born in 1883, died two months before his father, in January 1958,

His father, Obed-Edom Chukwuemeka Azikiwe, was a clerk in the British Administration of Nigeria. He travelled extensively as part of his job.

Smart and intelligent young Zik got his early education at various mission schools, from Holy Trinity and Christ Church Schools in Onicha, to Hope Waddell Training College in Calabar, and then to Methodist Boys High School in Lagos.

Zik later travelled to the United States of America, where he earned degrees from several institutions, including Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.

Zik’s academic sojourn abroad was influenced by his teacher, James Aggrey, who believed that Africans should receive a college education abroad and return to effect change.

Zik’s academic experiences abroad exposed him to liberation struggles and Pan-Africanism, which later inspired his commitment to the struggle against colonialism and fight for independence, for a united Africa, at first and later Nigeria.

I am particularly in love with Zik’s life and contribution as a fearless and die-hard journalist and media investor. As a journalist, Zik invested his media prowess and intellectualism to propagate and advocate for social and political change in Africa and later Nigeria.

His depth and mastery of journalism qualified him to skillfully and oratorically express and convey the grievances and agitations of Nigerians against the colonial provocateurs, thereby earning him the respect and admiration of not only Nigerians but even the Colonial Merchants.

Zik began his journalism career as a columnist for the Baltimore Afro-American, Philadelphia Tribune, and the Associated Negro Press, in America.  He later moved to Gold Coast, presently Ghana, where he accepted an offer from Alfred Ocansey to become the founding editor of the African Morning Post, a daily newspaper in Accra. Zik was at liberty to run the newspaper and recruited many of its original staff.

Zik had a column known as "The Inside Stuff Zik", in which he preached radical nationalism and black pride which raised some alarm in colonial circles. As editor of the African Morning Post, Zik promoted a pro-African nationalist agenda.

He founded and edited several newspapers, including the "West African Pilot," which became a powerful tool for advocating for Nigerian independence and unity. Zik’s writings and editorials conveyed strong messages of self-determination and empowerment to the Nigerian people, earning him a reputation as a vocal and eloquent advocate for people’s rights.

As a politician, Zik was also fearless and resolute. He was a political enigma, a political mentor who understood the importance of making and empowering men. Little wonder there was a Zikist Movement, a group of political enthusiasts and activists that believed in Zik’s leadership and ideology.

As aforementioned, Zik’s role in the struggle for Nigerian independence was not limited to journalism. He teamed up with other nationalists across Nigeria in politics to fight for its independence and quickly rose through the ranks.

For Zik, “Leadership is not about the position one holds, but about the positive impact one has on others.” He also opined that “Leadership is the great unifier, the builder of nations, the spearhead of progress.”

Zik was aware that Nigeria’s diverse ethno-religious groups could derail every progressive nationalistic struggle for a better nation, and he insisted that “In diversity lies the strength of a nation, for it is in different perspectives that true progress is born.”

Zik was a man of words and honour with infectious oratory powers. Despite attaining higher heights in public service, he held tenaciously to the belief that “The true measure of a leader is not how they rise to power, but how they use that power to uplift others”, insisting also that “Leadership is not about the position one holds, but about the positive impact one has on others".

Zik was a member of the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM), the country's first nationalist organisation. He later co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) with Herbert Macaulay in 1944.

It is instructive to note that Zik was the first President of the Nigerian Senate from January 1st, 1960 to 1 October 1960. On his 56th birthday on November 16, 1960, Zik assumed the role of Nigeria's Governor-General, marking a significant step towards self-governance for Nigeria. He was later appointed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. This appointment emphasized his influence on the global political stage.

When Nigeria transitioned to a Republic in 1963, Zik, a Pan-Nigeria, was inaugurated as Nigeria’s first President. His leadership at this critical juncture in Nigeria's history signified the realisation of long-held dreams for self-rule and sovereignty. Under his presidency, Nigeria made significant progress in building a strong foundation for the newly-established Republic.

His unwavering commitment to the cause of Nigerian nationalism earned him the title of "Father of Nigerian nationalism."

He played a pivotal role in uniting Nigeria's diverse ethnic groups and fostering a sense of national identity. His vision for a united, independent Nigeria was instrumental in shaping the nation's destiny.

An astute Pan-Nigerian, Zik could speak fluently the three major indigenous languages – Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. He exemplified the ideals of  detribalised Nigeria, statesmanship, leadership, and dedication to the betterment of Nigeria and the Black Race.

For me, nothing should be left out in celebrating the enduring impact of this Great Leader of all Time. He was an Iconic Tall Image, who helped paved the way for Nigeria's independence and continues to inspire future generations.

He remains a significant figure in Nigeria's history. It is, therefore, crucial to acknowledge the significant role he played in shaping Nigeria's destiny. His unwavering commitment to the independence struggle paved the way for future generations, instilling the values of unity, patriotism and leadership in Nigeria.

Therefore, I call on well-meaning Nigerians to join in celebrating and honouring the life and legacy of this Great remarkable statesman, the "father of Nigerian nationalism," whose contributions have left an indelible mark on Nigeria's history, reminding us of the power of determination and resilience in the pursuit of a better future.

To buttress the importance of Zik’s contributions to Nigeria, he appears to be the most immortalized and honoured Nigerian leader with several national monuments, like Nnamdi Azikiwe's portrait on  N500 note, the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja, and many roads and streets named after him across Nigeria.

There is no major city or town across Nigeria that does not have at least one road or street with the name Nnamdi Azikiwe. There is Azikiwe Road in Aba, Azikiwe Road in Umuahia all in Abia State, Zik Avenue, Onicha, and Zik Avenue Oka, all in Anambra State. There is also Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UniZik) Oka, Anambra State. Zik Avenue, Enugu State, Azikwe Road Port Harcourt, Nnamdi Azikwe Express Way, Abuja, Nnamdi Azikwe Street, Lagos, Nnamdi Azikiwe Street, Kaduna, Nnamdi Azikiwe Library, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu; Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi; Nnamdi Azikiwe Press Centre, Dodan Barracks, Lagos; Azikiwe Avenue in Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania among others.

Zik was a lover of sports. He participated in boxing, athletics, football and tennis competitions. He later founded Zik’s Athletic Club (ZAC), to encourage sport-related activities for lovers of sports in Nigeria.

Let's celebrate Zik.

Happy 119th posthumous birthday, Nnamdi Azikiwe!

Happy 119th posthumous birthday, Owelle-Osowa-Anya of Onicha!

Happy 119th posthumous birthday, Zik of Africa!

** Enyinnaya Appolos, a journalist, writes from Abuja.

In the world of mental health, “dysmorphia” describes an obsessive focus on perceived defects in one’s body. People with body dysmorphic disorder may find themselves constantly comparing themselves unfavorably with the appearance of others.

Ali Katz, an estate lawyer and founder of the Family Wealth Planning Institute, sees an analogous phenomenon in the world of financial psychology — a state in which someone’s self-perception regarding their money doesn’t match reality.

She calls it “money dysmorphia.”

“It’s a distorted view that we have around money that causes us to make poor decisions,” Katz says.

One common form Katz sees among her clients is the belief that they’re not wealthy enough to make important plans for their assets. But that’s a bit of faulty and potentially damaging thinking, she says. 

“The way this plays into estate planning or investing is we don’t do it. We’re not rich enough to do estate planning. I’m not wealthy, I’m not rich,” Katz says. “But it’s absolutely untrue.”

An estate plan should be a ‘rite of passage’

One thing Katz hopes Americans can keep in mind is that, in the scope of the whole world, they’re wealthy. Some 62% of the world population lives on less than $10 a day, and 85% live on less than $30, according to the World Economic Forum.

“We’re so wealthy, we’re so rich comparatively, but then of course we’re comparing ourselves to Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk,” Katz says.

In other words, while you may not be a billionaire, or even have the kind of life you see people living on social media, you likely have assets in the form of cash, investing accounts or treasured belongings — and what you choose to do with them is important.

That’s where an estate plan comes in. A suite of estate planning documents, which often includes a will, a health-care directive, and financial and health-care powers of attorney. A will designates how you want your assets to be distributed in the case of your death. The other documents indicate your wishes for how your health care and financials will be handled if you become incapacitated.

“As soon as you turn 18 years old, you become an adult in the eyes of the law, specifically for the purposes of making your own health care and financial and legal decisions,” says Katz. “What that means is, the day you turn 18, if you have specific desires about how legal, financial or health-care decisions would be made for you, it’s time to step into adulthood.”

As a young person, it may not feel like you have an estate, or that you’ll ever need these documents. But if you don’t indicate what you want in these scenarios, the state, generally, makes decisions for you. Should you die without children, for example, the law typically states that your assets go to your parents. If that’s not what you’d prefer, it’s important to make that clear.

“The way I look at it, the creation of these documents — who you’re going to name, telling them what you want — is a rite of passage. An initiation,” says Katz.

You don’t have to be wealthy to invest, either

Financial pros see a similar line of thinking among young people who think the investing is something that’s reserved for the wealthy.

This notion is a “toxic” money mindset, Ramit Sethi a self-made millionaire and star of the Netflix show “How to Get Rich,” previously told CNBC Make It.

In fact, it’s completely backward, he says. “The way you get wealthy is by investing.”

Sethi knows that it can feel difficult to earmark money for a goal decades away when your present-day budget is stretched. That’s why he advocates for automatic transfers from your paycheck into an investing account, so that the money is out of sight, out of mind and working for your future.

“You can often change your entire socioeconomic trajectory for yourself and your family by starting this one simple thing, which is automatically investing,” he says. “That gets me excited because it means you can actually start to live a rich life, not worry about money for the next 20 years.”

The key to Sethi’s calculus is compounding interest, which allows a consistent investor to grow even very modest contributions into large sums of money over long periods of time. “Even if you can only invest $20 a month — that’s how you get started,” Sethi says.

Say that’s all you ever invested — $20 a month between age 20 and age 67. Over the course of your life as an investor, you will have put away more than $11,000.

But use Make It’s compound interest calculator to see how long-term, methodical investing can grow that money. If you earned an 8% annualized return on your investment, for instance, you’d end up with about $125,000.

 

CNBC

Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, nationwide strike recorded mixed compliance across the states, yesterday. While some states were shut down with banks, public schools, courts and others shut down, some states recorded partial compliance and a few did not comply.

The directives of the two labour bodies were carried out in Lagos, Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Kebbi, and Edo among others.

In Kano, banks and schools were shut as the government suspended qualifying examinations. Also schools were shut in Osogbo, the Osun State capital with the police beefing up security to avoid breakdown of law and order

In Imo, there was partial compliance as banks opened for business.

However, workers shunned the industrial action in Enugu and Abuja, with Labour leaders saying they would ensure strike in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, today.

The two unions in the nation’s public universities disagreed over the strike. While the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, asked its members to join the strike, the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, directed its members to shun the action.

This is coming as the Organised Labour pooh-poohed claims by the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, that the ongoing nationwide strike was an ego trip intended to ‘blackmail the government.’ It insisted that the strike was not a personal matter affecting the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, as alleged.

On November 13, 2023, the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the labour unions, in Abuja, resolved to embark on the strike due to the alleged failure of the Federal Government to address issues affecting workers such as the minimum wage, insecurity, corruption, and poor governance.

Also, both unions said they had made some demands, which the government allegedly failed to address following the recent crisis in Imo that resulted in the brutalisation of Ajaero, and other members of the labour unions.

Apart from the brutalisation of Ajaero, other labour leaders, and journalists, other grievances of Organized Labour include outstanding salary arrears, unjust declaration of 11,000 workers as ghost employees, unsettled gratuities, non-compliance of N30,000 minimum wage act, and declaration of 10,000 pensioners as ghost retirees.

The Federal Government on November 13 warned both unions against embarking on their planned strike, saying it would amount to contempt of court.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, in a statement, said the government had obtained a restraining order from the National Industrial Court of Nigeria barring the unions from going ahead with the strike.

Labour leaders expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance on Day One, noting that the compliance level would be much better in the coming days.

As of yesterday among the major critical sectors that fully complied with the strike were workers in the Maritime sector who shut the Ports formations in Lagos, Rivers, Cross River and Delta states.

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN in compliance with the Labour directive, shutdown port operations at Apapa and Tin-can Island.

This is even as freight forwarders have called on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy as well as the management of the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC to ensure that terminal operators and shipping lines do not slam demurrage on them for the duration of the strike.

Similarly, workers in the Food, Beverage and Tobacco, Chemical and Non-metallic Products and the Construction sectors, fully complied.

PENGASSAN joins

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, directed its members nationwide to join the industrial action via a circular by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okungbowa.

Speaking on the Day One of the strike, Deputy President of TUC, Tommy Okon, said: “We are very happy about the level of compliance so far. Many workers received the notice from their unions very late yesterday (Monday). I can authoritatively tell you there will be 100 percent compliance in the coming days.”

No meeting with FG – TUC

Meanwhile, the President of TUC, Festus Osifo, has dismissed reports of any meeting with the Federal Government, saying “I have no knowledge of any meeting with the government for now.”

Banks, trains grounded as Lagos workers join strike

However, the strike recorded an impact in Lagos as banks and train service were grounded.

The Secretary General, Nigeria Union of Railway Workers, Segun Esan, told newsmen that the union was involved in the strike and no train was running as a result.

“In effect, therefore, all the workers of Nigerian Railway are duty-bound to join the nationwide strike action from zero-zero hour of Tuesday, 14th November, 2023 by staying back at home and away from their offices.

“All the offices, stations, workshops, and entire premises of the corporation remain locked and inaccessible from zero-zero hour of Tuesday, 14th November, 2023, till otherwise directed by the Congress,” Esan said.

Also, the President of the Association of Senior Staff of Banks, Insurance, and Financial Institutions, Oluwole Olusoji, said advice had been sent out to members on compliance, adding that members had been advised to ensure the safeguard of lives and property from people who might be used to take undue advantage of the situation.

“We will continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds,” Olusoji said.

Join nationwide strike, ASUU directs members

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU wrote to all zonal coordinators and chairpersons of the union and directed them to mobilise members be mobilised for the strike in line with the NLC and TUC directives.

The letter which was signed by ASUU’s National President, Emmanuel Osodeke, was issued on Monday night.

The letter read in part:  “As an affiliate of NLC, all members of our union are hereby directed to join this action of NLC to protect the interest of Nigerian workers and the leadership of the union. Zonal coordinators and branch chairpersons should immediately mobilise our members to participate in the action. A people united, cannot be defeated.”

Don’t join strike, CONUA directs members

Conversely, CONUA directed its members not to join the strike.

In a statement by its President, Niyi Sumonu, CONUA stated that the academic union was not communicated on the strike directive by the TUC which it sought to be an affiliate, noting that processes to become an affiliate of the TUC were yet to be completed, and the TUC had failed to communicate it on the directive to embark on strike.

“As at the moment of putting together this release, the TUC with whom CONUA submitted an affiliation request has not communicated this position on strike action to it. Distinguished comrades should therefore note that CONUA cannot be part of the strike action that is not communicated to it. In addition, the affiliation process with the TUC has not been officially established,” the statement read in part.

Public schools shut in Osogbo, police beef up security

Meanwhile, some public schools in Osogbo, Osun State, shut down operations in compliance with the strike directive, yesterday morning.

The students that had resumed at their various schools in the town were at about 9 am seen on the streets around Stadium, Ayetoro and West Bye-pass, Osogbo returning home.

During a visit to some schools within the metropolis, teachers were seen in their various offices after the students had been sent home.

Some of the schools visited include Fakunle High School, Osogbo, Saint James Grammar School and Adenle Grammar School also located in Ayetoro Area, Osogbo.

None of the teachers who were approached agreed to comment on record.

A few of them who spoke said they had resumed work only to be told of the commencement of strike by labour leaders.

‘’We couldn’t hold back the students when the labour leaders came around and asked us to shut down operations. The students have been released but many teachers are still around the premises,” a male teacher told  Vanguard.

Contacted, Osun NLC acting chairperson, Modupe Oyedele, said workers in the state complied fully with the strike directive, adding “Osun is in full compliance with the strike directive.”

Unusual presence of armed police operatives was observed at some strategic points in Osogbo in an apparent move to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

Police operatives were stationed at Lameco Junction, Old Garage and Olaiya areas of Osogbo. Economic activities were going on without hitches in the areas visited.

Banks, schools shut in Kano, govt suspends qualifying exams

In Kano, Primary and secondary schools, as well as tertiary institutions, joined the strike.

Primary and day secondary school pupils who went to school as early as 7.30 am were compelled to return home as they did not meet teachers in the schools.

The strike also affected operations in banks, hospitals, and other public places in the state.

Similarly, the Audu Bako State Secretariat, which houses most of the ministries, was closed even though some workers who were not aware of the strike reported for work in the morning but had to return home later.

Students in Bayero University Kano who are currently sitting for their first semester examinations were also affected by the strike as a number of them who went to the examination halls had to return to their respective hostels.

“Many students who were to sit for exams in the morning returned to their hostels disappointed because they could not see anybody in the examination halls,” a female student said.

Consequently, the Kano State Ministry of Education has suspended the 2023 Secondary Schools Qualifying Examination scheduled to take place today, until further notice.

A statement signed by the Director of Public Enlightenment of the Ministry, Balarabe Kiru, revealed that the suspension is compelled by the industrial action embarked upon by the NLC and TUC nationwide.

Workers defy directives, continue work in Abuja

However,  federal and private sector workers in Abuja all resumed their duty posts, yesterday morning, in defiance to the strike directives.

All offices at the Federal Secretariat,Abuja,were opened for work just as activities in and around the secretariat were in full swing.

There was no sign that any worker was absent from work on account of the strike.

At the Federal Ministry of Education, the Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, performed his activities as scheduled. In fact, he presided over the Pre-departure briefing of the 179 Bilateral Education Agreement, BEA, Scholars, who were awarded Russian scholarships for the 2023/2024 academic session.

At the Federal Ministry of Health, all workers were seen at work. The Minister, Prof. Ali Pate, Permanent Secretary, Kachollom Daju, and other senior staff of the ministry were at work when Vanguard visited.

A worker who pleaded anonymity, said he came because he was yet to be directed to stay off duty by labour leaders in the health sector.

“I would have complied if I had a directive to that effect by the labour leaders of our local branch. We can’t stay at home because we read on the pages of newspapers that NLC and TUC have declared strike. If the directive to that effect comes today, then you may not see me on duty tomorrow,” he said.

The same thing was observed at the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs. All workers in the ministry were on duty. Although the Minister, Betta Edu, was yet to come to her office when  Vanguard  visited.

Workers who spoke, said although they cited the circular from the national secretariat of NLC directing that they stay off duty, they couldn’t obey since their local chapter did not act on the correspondence.

Some labour leaders were seen hanging around the Federal Secretariat discussing the strike issue and their next strategies to effect the directives of the national leadership of their unions.

Asked to speak on the ineffective strike directives, one of the labour leaders told  Vanguard  in confidence that they would affect the strike today.

Just like the federal government workers, private sector workers were seen in their various places of work.

Also banks located in and around the Federal Secretariat were all opened to business. Staff and customers were seen transacting business.

Businesses went on around the Federal Secretariat complex.

NLC,TUC, affiliates shutdown Kebbi

In Kebbi, economic activities were grounded and public offices were closed.

Kebbi State Chairman of NLC, comrade Murtala Usman, told newsmen that they joined the industrial action because the “Organised Labour is a family, therefore an injury to one is an injury to all hence our reason to halt economic activities in Kebbi State to ensure that justice is done to our amiable leader, Mr. Ajearo who was unjustly manhandled by suspected security agencies for pressing demands of workers in Imo State.”

He added all labour affiliates like National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives, NANNM; judiciary Staff Union, JUSUN, and all other unions had complied with directive shutting offices and social facilities.

“Kebbi State remains shut till further directives from our mother union to do otherwise. So, I urge Nigerians and the people of the state to cooperate with us as we struggle to ensure demands of Nigerians are met.”

NLC paralyses activities in Edo, shut down public offices, others

The strike  recorded a huge success in Benin City, the Edo State capital as public schools, government offices, courts, some banks and other public places like the National Museum, the House of Assembly complex and others were shut by officials of the NLC.

Litigants were stranded at the entrance gates to the High Court Complex while some personnel did not also open the judges’ gates through which High Court judges enter their offices.

A lawyer, Afolabi Olayiwola, who couldn’t access the court premises said the strike was a sign of a failed system.

He expressed shock that despite a court order stopping the strike, judiciary workers still embarked on the strike.

“Ordinarily, the strike ought not to have been because there is a court order and if judiciary staff cannot obey a court order it shows it is a failed system and if it escalates it becomes a problem. If other sectors go on strike the judiciary arm ought not to have embarked on it as they are aware of the court order. That is where I am worried”

At the Benin Airport, an official said planes landed and took off and travellers were seen making their way into the airport to catch their flights to different destinations.

Banks along Akpakpava, Mission roads, Forestry and other areas were shut down with customers trying to get money from a few ATMs that dispensed cash.

Government schools in the GRA were shut as students were seen loitering around their schools.

A security officer at NPDC said the staff were complying with the strike with only essential workers allowed into the premises.

Also, Oredo, Egor and other local government secretariats visited in Benin City complied with the strike as workers in their numbers hung around the councils’ premises.

The Ambrose Alli University (AAU) Ekpoma, branch of ASUU directed its members to comply with the directives of the NLC. Checks by our correspondent showed that there were skeletal activities in the campus as the students were seen preparing for their Computer Based Tests (CBT) which was to start yesterday and various offices were opened for normal activities.

But the CONUA, University of Benin chapter, distanced itself from the strike, describing it as a “one man decision.”

Chairman of UNIBEN CONUA, Ishaq Osagie-Eweka, told journalists that CONUA is not an affiliate of the NLC, hence, it is not part of the protest. “I call on our members to go about their lawful duties for the overall best interest of the students.

“As a chapter, we shall not make any public statement regarding the sudden strike arising from one man’s decision, over his ill-conceived protest in Imo State that led to an alleged physical attack,” he said.

In Auchi, the headquarters of Etsako West LGA in Edo North, government offices and banks were closed to the public.

The closure of the State Secretariat was supervised by the chairman of Edo Chapter of the NLC, Odion Olaye with some workers and union executives seen within the complex, situated along Sapele Road, to ensure that members comply with the strike directives.

Also speaking, Comrade Alabi Precious, Chairman Edo State TUC Trade Union Congress said: “Our action was necessitated by the brutalization of the National President of NLC, Joe Ajaero and we are ready to get to the end of this matter.”

Ebonyi judiciary, university, banks shutdown

The Ebonyi State Judiciary, Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, FUNAI, Banks, and ministries in Abakaliki, were yesterday shut down for the nationwide strike.

There was 90 percent compliance to the strike, as many workers, including lawyers and bankers were stranded at the gate of the complex located at Water Works Road Abakaliki, the capital of Ebonyi State.

The strike also paralyzed business activities in the state, especially those who trade inside the court premises. Academic activities at FUNAI and Ebonyi State University, EBSU were affected by the strike.

Speaking to newsmen in Abakaliki, the state chairman of the NLC, Egwu Ogugua said: “So far so good, our compliance to the strike is 90 percent, the Ochi-Udo secretariat is scanty, the Ebonyi judiciary is under lock and key, the banks are not functioning. It’s only Zenith Bank that is open but they are not open to customers.

“What happened in Imo State, especially what is happening in Nigeria is bad. We have been pushed to the wall, we have been crushed. The ruling class no longer believes that we exist. It’s like anarchy has begun and that’s the situation we see ourselves in Nigeria,” he said.

Anambra workers comply with NLC directives

The chairman of the Anambra chapter of the NLC, Humphrey Nwafor, said workers in the state had already joined the strike as directed by the national body.

He said defaulters of the directives would be dealt with accordingly.

He said: “We’ve joined the strike. We’ve directed our members to stay away from their offices and workplaces till further notice. There won’t be any street protests. We’re only withdrawing our services as directed by the national body.”

Courts, schools under lock as NLC strike hits Abia

Also, the strike crippled activities in various courts and schools in Umuahia, Abia State capital.

The industrial action, which kicked off on Tuesday, 14th November, is to be enforced in all affiliate unions of the NLC in Abia, according to a press release signed by its Chairman, Pascal Nweke.

The Abia State High Court complex at Ikot Ekpene Road, Umuahia, and the High Court and Magistrate Courts inside the main buildings were under lock and key.

Lawyers, litigants, and judiciary staff were seen loitering outside the main gate.

Teachers in Primary school (1) School Road Primary School, Ibeku High School among other government schools also joined the strike.

Pupils of City Primary School at the school road were seen playing football during learning hours.

Staff of Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) Umuahia also joined the strike.

However, staff of some Abia State government establishments only observed a skeletal strike

Our Correspondent observed some civil servants entering the offices of the Head of Service, Secretary to Abia State Government, and the Michael Okpara auditorium, through one side of their gates, even though some offices remained locked.

Electricity workers supplied light to Umuahia city but withdrew the light by 11:10 am.

Also, most commercial banks in Umuahia were still rendering normal services to customers as of the time of this report, even though customers were only allowed into their premises in batches.

Enugu workers shun NLC, TUC strike directive, resume at duty posts

Workers in Enugu State defied the strike directive and resumed at their various duty posts.

In some areas of Enugu, the state capital, banks were observed rendering services to their customers. Workers of some government agencies also resumed work early in the morning.

At the government revenue office along Zik Avenue, workers were in their various offices, while a bank along Agbani Road was also rendering services to customers. Both private and government schools also did not observe the strike.

A civil servant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed the leadership of both NLC and TUC over the non-compliance with the strike directive, saying they failed to act when the ovation was loudest.

There was heavy vehicular movement on the major roads of Enugu city while the markets were open for businesses.

Imo workers comply partially, banks open for businesses

In Imo State, the strike recorded a partial compliance as civil servants reported for duty and banks opened for businesses.

Gates to the state secretariat were wide opened for workers.

Several workers were seen at their various duty posts discussing the outcome of the governorship election which was won by Governor Hope Uzodimma for another four-year term.

However, many of the workers reported out of fear as some registered their names and left very early for their homes.

Many banks in the state attended to their customers

Some courts complied with the strike directive but some litigants who were not aware of the strike came to the court to hear their cases.

At Douglas Road, Wetheral Road, and Bank Road, people were seen transacting businesses in the banks.

However, at some of the federal establishments such as Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) and Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Owerri, workers stayed away from their offices, saying, “we are on strike.”

Brutalisation of Ajaero not a personal matter—Labour

Faulting Onanuga’s comment that the strike was an ego trip because of Ajaero, the NLC, in a statement, by its Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah, titled “Bayo Onanuga’s mischief and the tragedy of a nation”, said Onanuga is suffering from selective amnesia.

Why insisting the strike is not a personal matter affecting Ajaero, as alleged, the NLC urged Nigerians to ignore the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, because he is known for his overzealous hirelings with the mistaken belief that would earn him the confidence of his principal.

The statement read in part: “If Onanuga were not suffering from selective amnesia, he ought to have known that this government should remain grateful to the organised labour for its uncommon patience with a government that clearly was not prepared for the consequences of its fundamentalist market policies of massive currency devaluation and ‘subsidy’ removal which imposed on Nigerians social violence, upheaval, dislocation, displacement or punishment they never before experienced.

“Onanuga, similarly ought to have known that organised labour, by not opting for a strike as a first option, acted as a bulwark against the rage of Nigerians thereby saving this government from itself.

“Organised labour is not unaware of the misdirected anger of Nigerians for not going for the jugular of this government for justifiable reasons: inflation moved from 19 percent to 29 percent; exchange rate from N400 to N1,300; and pump price of Petrol from N187 to N700, in the first five months of this government!

“In light of this, who is punishing “a whole country of over 200 million people”, NLC/TUC or the Government of Bola Tinubu?

“Similarly, this strike is not ‘over a personal matter involving the NLC President, Mr Joe Ajaero, whose error of judgment led to the assault on him in Owerri while he was planning to incite the workers in Imo State into a needless strike’, as casually and callously alleged by Bayo Onanuga.

“However, herein lies the kernel of the matter. Mr Ajaero is General Secretary of National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and neither he nor any of the members of his union in or outside Imo State is owed a salary/pension payment arrears.

“However, in his capacity as President of the Nigeria Labour Congress he has an oversight over all the unions affiliated to the Congress including the civil servants and pensioners (core/non-core civil servants, teachers, local government workers, pensioners etc) who have been owed in varying degrees of arrears.

“There have been pending cases of improper implementation of national minimum wage, declaration of thousands of workers as ghost workers, and non-implementation of agreements reached with the state government since 2021.

“Some of this went to court and the state government asked for time out of court for settlement but did not honour its own voluntary agreement as usual. The state government in a written statement did admit it was too busy working to honour its own voluntary agreement.

“A previous strike action was suspended on the appeal of elder statesmen and women and an appeal by the state government. After this, Congress made every humanly possible effort to have the issues peacefully resolved, all to no avail. Congress was left with no option than to resume a strike action in the state with notice. Congress had been to a couple of other states that did not even commit the sins of the Imo State Government.

“Coupled with the above, fresh demands were made following the abduction, and gruesome assault and battery òf Comrade Joe Ajaero (by the Police) out of which none has been met fully.

“How then could this be a personal matter to Joe Ajaero? Before he became Congress President, he never bothered himself with the affairs of Imo State or any state for that matter except it was the decision of Congress organs.”

 

Vanguard

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says the old naira notes will remain legal tender beyond December 31, 2023 — and no longer have a deadline.

CBN said this in a statement signed by Isa AbdulMumin, director, corporate communications, on Tuesday.

In March 2023, the supreme court had extended the deadline to phase out the old naira notes to December 31, 2023.

Prior to the CBN lifting the deadline, on November 8, the apex bank had issued a statement informing Nigerians that the old naira notes remain legal after reports of anxiety over its legality.

The apex bank on Tuesday said without prejudice, it has extended “the legal tender status deadline of the old design of N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations, ad infinitum”.

CBN said: “This is in line with international best practices and to forestall a repeat of earlier experiences.”

“Thus, all banknotes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in accordance with Section 20(5) of the CBN Act 2007, will continue to remain legal tender, ad infinitum, even beyond the initial December 31, 2023, deadline.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria is working with the relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject.

“Accordingly, all CBN branches across the country will continue to issue and accept all denominations of Nigerian banknotes, old and redesigned, to and from deposit money banks (DMBs).

“The general public is enjoined to continue to accept all Naira banknotes (old or redesigned) for day-to-day transactions and handle these banknotes with utmost care, to safeguard and protect the lifecycle of the banknotes.”

CBN encouraged the general public to embrace alternative modes of payment such as e-channels, for day-to-day transactions.

 

The Cable

Israeli military forces raid Gaza's largest hospital in operation against Hamas

The Israeli military raided Gaza’s largest hospital early Wednesday, conducting what it called a “precise and targeted” operation against Hamas as Israel seized broader control of northern Gaza, including capturing the territory’s legislature building and its police headquarters.

The gains carried high symbolic value in the country’s quest to crush the militant group that rules Gaza.

The raid unfolded “in a specified area” of the Shifa Hospital, which has been the site of a standoff with Hamas. Israeli authorities claim the militants conceal military operations in the facility. But with hundreds of patients and medical personnel inside, the military had refrained from entering.

In recent weeks, Israeli defense forces have publicly warned that such use of the hospital jeopardized its protection under international law. On Tuesday, military officials conveyed again to Gaza authorities that all military activity in the hospital must cease within 12 hours.

“Unfortunately, it did not,” the military said.

Hamas has denied accusations that it uses the hospital for cover.

Israeli military officials gave no further details on the raid but said they were taking steps to avoid harm to civilians.

Meanwhile, Israeli defense officials said they have agreed to allow some fuel shipments into the Gaza Strip for humanitarian purposes. It was the first time Israel has allowed fuel into the besieged territory since Hamas’ bloody cross-border invasion on Oct. 7.

Inside some of the newly captured buildings, soldiers held up the Israeli flag and military flags in celebration. In a nationally televised news conference, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas had “lost control” of northern Gaza and that Israel made significant gains in Gaza City.

But asked about the time frame for the war, Gallant said: “We’re talking about long months, not a day or two.”

One Israeli commander in Gaza, identified only as Lt. Col. Gilad, said in a video that his forces near Shifa Hospital had seized government buildings, schools and residential buildings where they found weapons and eliminated fighters.

The army said it captured the legislature, the Hamas police headquarters and a compound housing Hamas’ military intelligence headquarters. The buildings are powerful symbols, but their strategic value was unclear. Hamas fighters are believed to be in underground bunkers.

For days, the Israeli army has encircled the hospital. Hundreds of patients, staff and displaced people were trapped inside, with supplies dwindling and no electricity to run incubators and other lifesaving equipment. After days without refrigeration, morgue staff on Tuesday dug a mass grave in the yard for more than 120 bodies, officials said.

Elsewhere, the Palestinian Red Crescent said Tuesday it had evacuated patients, doctors and displaced families from another Gaza City hospital, Al-Quds.

Israel has vowed to end Hamas rule in Gaza after the militants’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel in which they killed some 1,200 people and took roughly 240 hostages. The Israeli government has acknowledged it doesn’t know what it will do with the territory after Hamas’ defeat.

The Israeli onslaught — one of the most intense bombardments so far this century — has been disastrous for Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians.

More than 11,200 people, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry in Ramallah. About 2,700 people have been reported missing. The ministry’s count does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths.

Almost the entire population of Gaza has squeezed into the southern two-thirds of the tiny territory, where conditions have been deteriorating even as bombardment there continues. About 200,000 fled the north in recent days, the U.N. said Tuesday, though tens of thousands are believed to remain.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday that its fuel storage facility in Gaza was empty and that it would soon end relief operations, including bringing limited supplies of food and medicine in from Egypt for more than 600,000 people sheltering in schools and other facilities in the south.

“Without fuel, the humanitarian operation in Gaza is coming to an end. Many more people will suffer and will likely die,” said Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of UNRWA.

Israeli defense officials, who repeatedly rejected allowing fuel into Gaza saying Hamas would divert it for military use, changed course early Wednesday. Israel will allow some 24,000 liters (6,340 gallons) of fuel into the Gaza Strip for humanitarian operations, officials said.

The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli defense body responsible for Palestinian affairs, said it would allow U.N. trucks to refill at the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border later Wednesday. It said the decision was in response to a request from the U.S.

PLIGHT OF HOSPITALS

Fighting has raged for days around the Shifa Hospital complex at the center of Gaza City that has now “turned into a cemetery,” its director said in a statement.

The Health Ministry said 40 patients, including three babies, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of fuel Saturday. Another 36 babies are at risk of dying because there is no power for incubators, according to the ministry.

The Israeli military said it started an effort to transfer incubators to Shifa. But they would be useless without electricity, said Christian Lindmeier, a World Health Organization spokesman.

The Health Ministry has proposed evacuating the hospital with the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross and transferring the patients to hospitals in Egypt, but has not received any response, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra said.

While Israel says it is willing to allow staff and patients to evacuate, some Palestinians who have made it out say Israeli forces have fired at evacuees.

Israel says its claims of a Hamas command center in and beneath Shifa are based on intelligence, but it has not provided visual evidence to support them. Denying the claims, the Gaza Health Ministry says it has invited international organizations to investigate the facility.

The evacuation at the Al-Quds Hospital followed “more than 10 days of siege, during which medical and humanitarian supplies were prevented from reaching the hospital,” Palestinian Red Crescent officials said.

In a post on X, they blamed the Israeli army for bombarding the hospital and firing at those inside.

The White House’s national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the U.S. has unspecified intelligence that Hamas and another Palestinian militants use Shifa and other hospitals and tunnels underneath them to support military operations and hold hostages.

The intelligence is based on multiple sources, and the U.S. independently collected the information, a U.S. official said on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Kirby said the U.S. doesn’t support airstrikes on hospitals and does not want to see “a firefight in a hospital where innocent people” are trying to get care.

MARCH FOR HOSTAGES

Families and supporters of the around 240 people being held hostage by Hamas started a protest march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The plight of the hostages has dominated public discourse since the Oct. 7 attack, with solidarity protests held across the country. The marchers, who expect to reach Jerusalem on Saturday, say the government must do more to bring home their loved-ones.

“Where are you?” Shelly Shem Tov, whose 21-year-old son, Omer, is among the captives, called out to Netanyahu. “We have no strength anymore. We have no strength. Bring back our children and our families home.”

BATTLE IN GAZA CITY

Independent accounts of the fighting in Gaza City have been nearly impossible to gather, as communications to the north have largely collapsed.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israeli forces have completed the takeover of Shati refugee camp, a densely built district bordering Gaza City’s center, and are moving about freely in the city as a whole.

Videos released by the Israeli military show troops moving through the city, firing into buildings. Bulldozers push down structures as tanks roll through streets surrounded by partially collapsed towers.

The videos portray a battle where troops are rooting out pockets of Hamas fighters and tearing down buildings where they find them, while gradually dismantling the group’s tunnel network.

Israel says it has killed several thousand fighters, including important mid-level commanders, while 46 of its own soldiers have been killed in Gaza.

 

AP

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russia and Ukraine may never sign peace treaty – Kiev

Russia and Ukraine may never sign a formal peace treaty ending the current conflict, Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, wrote in an op-ed, excerpts from which were published on Monday. He pointed to Russia and Japan, which never signed a comprehensive peace treaty after World War II due to Tokyo’s claims on several of Russia’s Kuril Islands. 

“There are cases in history when old wars between the states have not been legally concluded. An obvious example is Russia and Japan. They did not sign a peace agreement after 1945 due to [the dispute] over the Northern Islands, also known as the Kuril Islands in Russia. This territorial problem is now more than 70 years old,” Budanov wrote in an op-ed for NV magazine,

“This is why such a scenario is highly likely in our case, considering that Russia has significant territorial appetite when it comes to Ukraine, and not only pertaining to Crimea.”

Budanov’s assessment comes as Kiev’s long-anticipated counteroffensive, launched in the summer, has largely petered out without achieving any significant victories on the ground. Ukrainian troops struggled to break through fortified defense lines and cross thick minefields, losing many NATO-supplied tanks and other armored vehicles in the process. Speaking to the Economist this month, Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s top general, described the situation on the battlefield as “a stalemate.”

The prospects of a peace treaty between Moscow and Kiev remain bleak as both countries ruled out compromising with one another. President Vladimir Zelensky and other top-ranking Ukrainian officials ruled out negotiations unless Russia surrenders its recently acquired territories. Moscow repeatedly said that it would be impossible.

Crimea voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia in 2014, following a Western-backed coup in Kiev that year. Four other former Ukrainian territories – the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye – did the same after holding referendums on the matter in September 2022.

At the same time, President Vladimir Putin argued last month that Moscow was aiming not to acquire new lands, but to protect the people of Donbass and maintain its own security. He said that the Ukrainian delegation was close to signing a neutrality pact in March 2022, but has since discarded preliminary agreements. 

 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine says Russia tries to push on east, involves more drones

A top Ukrainian military official said Russian troops continued simultaneous assault attempts in several directions on the country's east, now launching even more attack drones.

Kyiv's counteroffensive aimed at retaking occupied land in the country's south and east has not managed to move as fast as expected due to heavy mining and strong defensive lines of Russian troops.

In mid-October, Russian soldiers launched a massive offensive campaign near the eastern town of Avdiivka, followed by an intensification in other frontline sections in the east.

On Tuesday, the head of Ukraine's ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that Russia, despite high losses, has been attacking Ukrainian positions near Kupyansk.

"In addition, the enemy has increased the use of kamikaze drones," he said on Telegram messenger.

"North and south of Bakhmut, Russian troops are trying to seize the initiative by conducting counterattacks. However, our defenders break all the plans and attempts of invaders to seize our land," Syrskyi added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he received military reports on an increasing number of attacks in the east, including in Avdiivka direction.

He added that Ukrainian forces hold the ground and continue assault operations. Reuters could not independently verify battlefield reports.

 

RT/Reuters

Geoffrey Hinton, the computer scientist known as a “Godfather of AI,” says artificial intelligence-enhanced machines “might take over” if humans aren’t careful.

Rapidly-advancing AI technologies could gain the ability to outsmart humans “in five years’ time,” Hinton, 75, said in a Sunday interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” If that happens, AI could evolve beyond humans’ ability to control it, he added.

“One of the ways these systems might escape control is by writing their own computer code to modify themselves,” said Hinton. “And that’s something we need to seriously worry about.”

Hinton won the 2018 Turing Award for his decades of pioneering work on AI and deep learning. He quit his job as a vice president and engineering fellow at Google in May, after a decade with the company, so he could speak freely about the risks posed by AI.

Humans, including scientists like himself who helped build today’s AI systems, still don’t fully understand how the technology works and evolves, Hinton said. Many AI researchers freely admit that lack of understanding: In April, Google CEO Sundar Pichai referred to it as AI’s “black box” problem.

As Hinton described it, scientists design algorithms for AI systems to pull information from data sets, like the internet. “When this learning algorithm then interacts with data, it produces complicated neural networks that are good at doing things,” he said. “But we don’t really understand exactly how they do those things.”

Pichai and other AI experts don’t seem nearly as concerned as Hinton about humans losing control. Yann LeCun, another Turing Award winner who is also considered a “godfather of AI,” has called any warnings that AI could replace humanity “preposterously ridiculous” — because humans could always put a stop to any technology that becomes too dangerous.

‘Enormous uncertainty’ about AI’s future

The worst-case scenario is no sure thing, and industries like health care have already benefitted tremendously from AI, Hinton emphasized.

Hinton also noted the spread of AI-enhanced misinformation, fake photos and videos online. He called for more research to understand AI, government regulations to rein in the technology and worldwide bans on AI-powered military robots.

At a Capitol Hill session last month, lawmakers and tech executives like Pichai, Elon Musk, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg suggested similar ideas while discussing the need to balance regulations with innovation-friendly government policies.

Whatever AI guardrails get put into place — whether by tech companies or at the mandatory behest of the U.S. federal government — they need to happen soon, Hinton said.

Humanity is likely at “a kind of turning point,” said Hinton, adding that tech and government leaders must determine “whether to develop these things further and what to do to protect themselves if they [do].” 

“I think my main message is there’s enormous uncertainty about what’s going to happen next,” Hinton said.

 

CNBC

Even as airlines try to maximize their route networks and fly more planescloser to full than ever before, many travelers are still hoping old tricksaround "asking nicely for an upgrade" will work for them.

Earlier this year, longtime flight attendant Patricia Green wrote a post saying that "can I have an upgrade?" is both the single most frequently asked and annoying question for flight attendants due to their limited ability to help.

Another flight attendant with a commercial airline, 25-year-old Destanie Armstrong became the latest to speak up against such actions on social media platform TiKTok.

'Our airline considers it as stealing,' flight attendant explains in viral video

"We never allow that," Armstrong says in response to a question from one of her followers asking how often flight attendants switch someone over into first class. "If someone wants to wants to switch cabins or even get an upgrade, that's to be dealt with [by] the gate agent."

In her post with Simple Flying, Green had also said that any upgrades are finalized before the passenger boards the flight. Once in the plane, switches can sometimes occur if there's a problem with the seat but flight attendants do not have the authority to do it just to be nice.

"You can get in a lot of trouble for doing that, giving out upgrades," Armstrong explained. "Our airline considers it as stealing because the passenger didn't pay for the ticket or get the upgrade."

Armstrong also explained that, because anyone entitled to an upgrade would have received it before the flight boarded, first class seats are usually even more full than the rest of the cabin. As such, seats that may appear empty usually simply mean that the passenger assigned to its is running late or is in the bathroom.

Don't try to pull this on a plane (it won't work and will annoy the flight crew)

But despite all this, Armstrong said she still frequently sees all types of bad behavior on the part of the passengers — some will try to sneak into first class when they think the flight attendants are not looking while others try to give compliments or "flirt" with her with poorly-masked hopes of getting that upgrade.

"There have been multiple times that men have hit on me thinking that I'm going to move them to first class because they told me I was pretty," Armstrong said.

In reality, whether one gets an upgrade is almost always outside of the flight attendant's control because it depends on how full the plane is — even when there is free room, priority is always given to those who are willing to pay for the upgrade or those who have frequent flyer status that offers it to them in such situations.

That, however, doesn't stop some someone aboard every flight from trying their luck. According to Armstrong, another type of difficult traveler behavior comes from those who sit in the exit row seat (which, on many planes, also happens to be a premium economy seat) and then gripes about having to move when the flight attendant asks them to.

 

TheStreet