News
Israel hits media building housing Al Jazeera, AP in Gaza
Israeli air strikes pounded the Gaza Strip Saturday, killing 10 members of an extended family and demolishing a building housing international media outlets, as Palestinian militants fired back barrages of rockets.
On the sixth day since the conflict escalated, the death toll rose and violence also swept the occupied West Bank as a US envoy prepared to hold talks with officials seeking a de-escalation.
Despite intensifying diplomatic efforts, Israel’s fighter jets struck several sites in the densely-populated Gaza Strip which it has blockaded for more than a decade, while Palestinian Islamists unleashed rockets again towards Israel, killing one.
Balls of flame reached high into the sky as Israel’s air force on Saturday afternoon flattened a 13-floor building housing Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and the Associated Press news agency in the Gaza Strip, after giving a warning to evacuate.
“Clearly there is a decision not only to sow destruction and killing, but also to silence those who broadcast it,” Walid al-Omari, Al Jazeera head for Israel and the occupied territories, told AFP.
Jawad Mehdi, the owner of the Jala Tower, said an Israeli intelligence officer warned him he had just one hour to ensure the evacuation of the building.
Israel claimed that “military intelligence” of Hamas, the Gaza Strip’s Islamist rulers, were also in the building.
Earlier, an Israeli strike on a three-storey building in the Shati refugee camp killed 10 members of an extended family — two related mothers and their four children each. Israel’s army said the building was used by “Hamas terror organisation senior officials”.
– ‘Striking our children’ –
Mohammed al-Hadidi said he had lost most of his family in an air strike in Gaza.
“What did they do to deserve this? We’re civilians,” said the devastated father, whose surviving five-month-old baby was wounded in the explosion.
“They are striking our children — children — without previous warning”.
Israeli air and artillery strikes on Gaza since Monday have killed 139 people including 39 children, and wounded 1,000 more, health officials say.
Palestinian armed groups have fired 2,300 rockets at Israel, killing 10 people, including a child and a soldier. Over 560 Israelis have been wounded.
On Saturday afternoon, a rocket fired from Gaza killed an Israeli man in the central town of Ramat Gen near Tel Aviv, police and medics said.
Violence also raged in the West Bank and there were fears of an escalation as Palestinians Saturday mark the Nakba, the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation in 1948, which turned hundreds of thousands into refugees.
Eleven Palestinians were killed Friday in West Bank clashes.
A Palestinian security source said the fighting was the “most intense” since the second intifada, or uprising, that began in 2000.
– ‘Sustainable calm’ –
US Secretary for Israel-Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr was to hold talks Sunday with Israeli leaders ahead of meeting Palestinian officials.
Amr is seeking a “sustainable calm”, State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter said.
Washington has been criticised for not doing more to end the intensifying violence, after it blocked a UN Security Council meeting scheduled for Friday.
Israel, which is also trying to contain an outbreak of internal Jewish-Arab violence, is facing its bloodiest conflict with Palestinian militants in Gaza since 2014.
Its bombardment began Monday, after Hamas fired rockets towards Jerusalem following bloody Israeli police action at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and a crackdown on protests against the planned Israeli expulsion of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in annexed east Jerusalem.
– 10,000 Palestinians flee –
From 7:00 pm Friday to 7:00 am Saturday, some 200 rockets were fired at southern Israel, the Israeli army said. Over 100 were intercepted by air defences.
Israel retaliated by hitting nearly 800 targets, including a Hamas tunnel network dug under civilian areas.
Some 10,000 Gazans have fled homes near the Israeli border for fear of a ground offensive, the United Nations said.
“They are sheltering in schools, mosques and other places during a global Covid-19 pandemic with limited access to water, food, hygiene and health services, said UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied territories, Lynn Hastings.
Kamal al-Haddad, who fled with his family to a UN-supported school in Gaza City, said: “All the children are afraid, and we are afraid for the children”.
Egypt opened its Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Saturday to allow in 10 ambulances to ferry out seriously wounded Palestinians for treatment, medical officials said.
– ‘Not over yet’ –
Within Israel, tensions have spiralled into mob violence in mixed towns that are both home to Jewish Israelis and Arab citizens of Palestinian descent.
More than 750 people have been arrested in mixed Jewish-Arab towns this week, police said, including dozens of Arab Israelis were arrested overnight.
In the north, where Israel remains technically at war with neighbouring Lebanon and Syria, tensions were also rising.
Three rockets were launched from Syria Friday, while Israel’s army said it fired “warning shots” towards a group to stop them crossing from Lebanon with Israel’s arch-enemy Hezbollah saying one of its members was killed.
The UN said the Security Council was set to meet Sunday to address the violence.
But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave no indication that Israel was ready to ease its campaign.
“I said we’d deliver heavy blows to Hamas and other terror groups, and we’re doing that,” Netanyahu said. “It’s not over yet”.
The Kano State House of Assembly has initiated impeachment proceedings against Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo over allegations of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and breach of public trust.
The notice was presented yesterday during plenary by the Majority Leader, Lawan Hussaini Dala, who said the action follows Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dala said the allegations stem from Abdussalam’s tenure as Commissioner for Local Government (2023–2024) and his current role as deputy governor. He accused the deputy governor of diverting funds meant for the 44 local government councils.
According to the majority leader, Abdussalam allegedly received N1.5 million monthly from each council between June 2023 and January 2024, totaling N462 million. Between February and July 2024, he allegedly collected N3.255 million monthly from each council under the guise of special assignments, amounting to N726 million.
Dala also accused the deputy governor of abuse of office, claiming he facilitated payments of N10 million from each council to NovoMed Pharmaceuticals Limited, totaling N440 million, in violation of state procurement laws.
“The misuse of official capacity to confer undue advantage constitutes abuse of power and undermines public trust,” Dala told lawmakers, adding that the allegations amount to gross misconduct under the Constitution.
The impeachment notice was reportedly endorsed by 38 lawmakers, meeting the constitutional threshold to proceed. The Speaker has acknowledged receipt, and the House is expected to serve the allegations on the deputy governor.
If approved, a panel may be constituted by the state Chief Judge to investigate the claims.
As of filing, Abdussalam had yet to respond publicly to the allegations.
The Inspector-General of Police, Tunji Disu, on Wednesday inaugurated a seven-member committee on the establishment of state police, giving it four weeks to submit its report.
The inauguration was held during his maiden conference with senior police officers at the Peacekeeping Conference Centre, Force Headquarters, Abuja.
Charging members of the panel to discharge their duties with professionalism and objectivity, Disu described the assignment as “both significant and timely,” noting that it would shape the framework through which state policing may operate in Nigeria.
“In carrying out this assignment, your deliberations must be guided by professionalism, objectivity, and a clear appreciation of the unique complexities of policing a diverse nation such as our own,” the IGP said.
He stated that if properly designed and effectively implemented, state policing holds significant potential benefits for the country.
“By bringing law enforcement closer to communities, state police institutions can deepen local knowledge of security dynamics and enable quicker and more targeted responses to emerging threats,” he added.
The committee is expected to review existing policing models within and outside Nigeria, assess community security needs and emerging risks, and propose an operational framework for the establishment and coordination of state police structures.
It will also address issues relating to recruitment, training, standards and resource allocation, as well as develop accountability and oversight mechanisms to ensure professionalism and public trust.
The panel is chaired by Olu Ogunsakin, with Bode Ojajuni as secretary. Other members are Emmanuel Ojukwu, Okebechi Agora, Suleyman Gulma, Ikechukwu Okafor and Tolulope Ipinmisho.
Disu said the committee had about four weeks to conclude its assignment and submit a comprehensive report.
The move marks one of the first major steps taken by the new police chief since his appointment and confirmation a few days ago.
The development comes amid rising security concerns across the country, with several stakeholders advocating state policing as part of measures to tackle insecurity.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier asked the National Assembly to commence the process of amending relevant laws to pave the way for the creation of state police.
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday swore in Olatunji Disu as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
Disu took the oath of office at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly before the commencement of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.
The President also administered the oath of office to six commissioners of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and two commissioners of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
The ceremonies were witnessed by ministers, senior government officials and family members of the appointees.
The council meeting began shortly after the swearing-in.
In attendance were Vice President Kashim Shettima; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs EsthMrs.Walson-Jack.
Disu was appointed acting IGP on February 25, 2026, by President Tinubu, following the resignation of former IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
His appointment was subsequently endorsed by the Nigeria Police Council (NPC).
The former Assistant Inspector-General of Police assumed office last Wednesday.
He previously served as Assistant Inspector-General in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Alagbon, Lagos, after his promotion to the rank last year.
A former head of the Lagos Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Disu has pledged to deliver accountable, modern and professional policing.
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