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Biden Vows Arms Suspension as Israel Shells Rafah
Israel shelled Rafah on Thursday as US President Joe Biden offered his starkest warning yet over the conduct of its war against Hamas, vowing to cut off arms transfers if an offensive into the southern Gaza city goes ahead.
Israel has defied international objections by sending in tanks and conducting “targeted raids” in the border city, which it says is home to Hamas’s last remaining battalions — but is also crowded with displaced Palestinian civilians.
AFP journalists reported heavy shelling in Rafah early Thursday, and the Israeli military later said it was also striking “Hamas positions” further north in the centre of the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden warned he would stop US weapons supplies to Israel if it pushed ahead with its long-threatened Rafah ground offensive.
“If they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used… to deal with the cities,” Biden said. “We’re not gonna supply the weapons and the artillery shells that have been used.”
On Tuesday, Israel forces seized Rafah’s border crossing into Egypt, which has served the main entry point for aid into besieged Gaza.
The White House condemned the interruption to humanitarian deliveries at the time, and the secretary of defence later confirmed Washington had paused, for the time being, a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel after it failed to address concerns over its Rafah ground incursion.
“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs,” Biden said in his interview. “It’s just wrong.”
He insisted, however, that the United States was “not walking away from Israel’s security”.
The United States, along with Egypt and Cairo, has been heavily involved in talks currently under way in Cairo aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the seven-month war.
– ‘Extreme fear’ –
The Israeli military said Wednesday it was reopening another major aid crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom, as well as the Erez crossing.
But the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said the Kerem Shalom crossing — which Israel shut after a rocket attack killed four soldiers on Sunday — remained closed.
Late Wednesday, the army said a soldier was lightly wounded when Kerem Shalom was again targeted by rockets.
The heavy shelling in Rafah overnight into Thursday followed a day of what the Israeli military said were “targeted raids on the Gazan side of Rafah crossing”, in the city’s east.
An army statement later on Wednesday said that Hamas naval commander Mohammed Ahmed Ali was killed in an air strike “in the past day”. Hamas did not immediately comment.
Civilian life in Rafah, meanwhile, “has completely ceased”, said displaced Gazan Marwan al-Masri, 35, noting “the streets are empty” in the western part of the city.
“We are living in Rafah in extreme fear and endless anxiety,” said Muhanad Ahmad Qishta, 29.
“Places the Israeli army claims to be safe are also being bombed,” he told AFP.
– ‘Catastrophic’ health situation –
An emergency doctor working in Rafah and nearby Khan Yunis said that with humanitarian access compromised, the health situation was “catastrophic”.
“The smell of sewage is rife everywhere,” said the doctor, James Smith. “It’s been getting worse over the course of the last couple of days.”
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that hospitals in southern Gaza had only “three days of fuel left” because of the border closures.
“Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop.”
The war in Gaza was sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel in response vowed to crush Hamas and launched a military offensive that has killed at least 34,844 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Militants also took about 250 hostages. Israel estimates 128 of them remain in Gaza, including 36 who officials say are dead.
– Truce talks –
Talks involving Qatari, US and Hamas delegations aimed at cementing a long-stalled ceasefire deal were ongoing Wednesday in Cairo, said Al-Qahera News, which is linked to Egyptian intelligence.
It noted that there were “points of contention” during the discussions, but also reported some “convergence” without elaborating.
A senior Hamas official said the latest round of negotiations would be “decisive”.
Hamas “insists on the rightful demands of its people”, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly about the negotiations.
In Jerusalem, CIA director Bill Burns met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the “possibility of Israel pausing the operation in Rafah in exchange for hostage releases”, an Israeli official said, also on condition of anonymity.
The Hamas official had previously warned the Cairo talks would be Israel’s “last chance” to free the hostages still in militants’ hands.
Mediator Qatar also appealed “for urgent international action to prevent Rafah from being invaded and a crime of genocide being committed”.
Palestinian analyst Mkhaimar Abusada said Israel’s seizure of the Rafah crossing could be an attempt to create new facts on the ground, or a bid to “sabotage the truce talks”.
Israel’s seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing came after Hamas said it had accepted a truce proposal — one Israel said was “far” from what its own negotiators had previously agreed to.
Netanyahu has described the Rafah operation as “a very important step” in denying Hamas “a passage that was essential for establishing its reign of terror”.
As Nigerians celebrate Christmas amidst festivities and reflections, the Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency of Oyo state, Engr. Aderemi Oseni has sent a heartfelt message to Nigerians, emphasising the importance of unity, compassion, and selflessness in nation-building.
In his Christmas message on Wednesday, contained in a statement by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the lawmaker described the season as a time to reflect on the love and sacrifice demonstrated by the birth of Jesus Christ.
He urged citizens to embrace the spirit of giving, kindness, and shared humanity that Christmas symbolises.
“Christmas is a season of hope, joy, and renewal,” Oseni said. “It reminds us of our shared duty to show love to one another, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or political affiliations. Let us work together to foster unity and peace in our country, especially as we navigate through challenging times.”
The lawmaker also highlighted the significance of collective responsibility in nation-building.
“As we celebrate, we must remember the less privileged in our communities. Acts of charity and kindness, no matter how small, can make a significant impact on someone’s life,” he added.
The APC chieftain expressed gratitude to his constituents in Ibarapa East/Ido for their unwavering support, assuring them of his commitment to delivering more impactful governance.
He also called for patience and cooperation as the government works towards addressing issues affecting the nation, including infrastructure development, economic stability, and security.
“Let this Christmas inspire us to continue building bridges of hope and fostering the true Nigerian spirit of togetherness,” he stated.
As the year draws to a close, Oseni encouraged Nigerians to remain optimistic about the nation’s future, assuring them that better days lie ahead with collective effort and unwavering faith.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has initiated enforcement action against five airlines—two international and three domestic operators—for various violations of its regulations under Part 19.
The offenses include non-payment of passenger refunds within the stipulated timeframe, non-responsiveness to NCAA directives, mishandling of luggage, short-landed baggage, delayed and canceled flights, among other infractions.
Addressing journalists at the NCAA’s corporate headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, Michael Achimugu, the Authority’s spokesman, stated that airlines must adhere to regulations regarding flight disruptions. He emphasized that failure to comply attracts sanctions.
“Although airlines are not always responsible for flight disruptions, NCAA regulations stipulate actions that airlines must take during such incidents. Failure to comply attracts various levels of sanctions,” Achimugu said.
He reminded airlines of the NCAA’s recent directive mandating refunds to passengers within 14 days for online ticket purchases and immediate cash refunds for tickets bought with cash.
The yuletide season has seen a rise in passenger complaints about delays and cancellations, largely attributed to harmattan-induced poor visibility. Achimugu clarified that airlines are not liable for cancellations due to force majeure but stressed that the enforcement actions are for cases where airlines are found at fault.
“This is harmattan season, so there is poor visibility. Flights must get canceled. This is force majeure, and the airlines do not owe passengers anything in those instances. The enforcement we are initiating today is on cases where the airline is deemed to have been at fault. More will come,” he explained.
Achimugu further disclosed that the NCAA would summon the chief executives of all airlines this week to address flight disruptions and regulatory breaches.
While the names of the sanctioned airlines were not officially revealed, sources close to the Authority identified them as Ethiopian Airways, Royal Maroc Airways, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, and Air Peace.
The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Nentawe Yilwatda, has announced the Federal Government’s plan to reach 15 million households, representing 75 million people, through its conditional cash transfer scheme.
Speaking on Monday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Yilwatda explained that the initiative is part of President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to mitigating the economic hardships faced by vulnerable Nigerians.
“The president was so specific,” Yilwatda noted.
“There are policies that he brought in to see if that can ease those challenges for people at the lower end of the pyramid. One of those policies is to reach out to 15 million beneficiaries under the conditional cash transfer, targeting households rather than individuals. Each household will receive ₦25,000 monthly, paid three times a year.”
Yilwatda further clarified that the 15 million households being targeted translate to 75 million Nigerians, assuming an average of five persons per household.
So far, the Federal Government has reached five million individuals but is facing challenges in fully sanitizing the social register, particularly with the implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policy mandating digital identities for transparency and traceability of payments.
“Currently, only 1.4 million people on the social register have digital identities. Many of those we are targeting are outside the formal banking system,” the minister disclosed.
Yilwatda emphasized that women are specifically targeted as household leaders under the program to ensure the funds are used effectively for the benefit of children and other vulnerable members of society.
The conditional cash transfer programme, which is administered under the National Social Investment Programme, had earlier been suspended by President Tinubu in January due to allegations of corruption. However, the scheme was reinstated in February, with plans to extend the initiative to an additional 12 million households.
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