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Biden Vows Arms Suspension as Israel Shells Rafah

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Demonstrators protest during a rally in support of Rafah, next to a pro-Palestinian encampment at California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) in Los Angeles, California, on May 7, 2024. (Photo by Etienne LAURENT / AFP)

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”.

 

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Nigeria’s Oil Output Rises to 1.68m Barrels Per Day

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Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.68 million barrels per day in August 2026, representing a 0.4 per cent increase from the 1.67 million barrels per day recorded in July.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission disclosed this in its latest production report released on Sunday.

Excluding condensate, the country produced an average of 1,500,190 barrels of crude oil per day in August, allowing Nigeria to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota for the fourth consecutive month.

Daily combined crude oil and condensate production ranged between 1.64 million barrels and 1.71 million barrels during the month under review.

A breakdown of production by terminals showed that Bonny Terminal recorded the highest output at 320.04 thousand barrels per day, followed by Forcados Terminal with 317.40 thousand barrels per day.

Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average production of 171.72 thousand barrels per day, while Escravos Oil Terminal posted 131.71 thousand barrels per day.

Bonga ranked fifth among the highest-producing terminals, with an average output of 92.50 thousand barrels per day.

The NUPRC attributed the modest improvement in August production largely to the resolution of operational challenges involving the Single Buoy Mooring at the Erha field.

The commission said the challenges had adversely affected production in the preceding month.

“The restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall production volumes during the period under review,” the commission’s spokesperson, Eniola Akinkuotu, said in a statement on Sunday.

The regulator added that production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable during the month.

“Production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators sustaining implementation measures aimed at optimising production efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and minimising operational disruptions,” the statement said.

The latest figures indicate a continued improvement in Nigeria’s oil production, with the country maintaining its OPEC quota compliance for the fourth consecutive month.

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Oyo South: Oseni Approves N100m for Ibadan Community Road Rehabilitation

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District, Hon. Aderemi Oseni, has approved N100 million for the immediate rehabilitation of a major access road linking seven communities in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Oseni, who represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, announced the intervention on Saturday at a town hall meeting with residents and community leaders from Power Line, Awonsoso, Siba, Olupoyi, Balogun, Baba Agba and Agaloke communities.

‎The lawmaker said the decision followed a request by the community stakeholders, who identified the poor condition of the road as their most pressing need. He assured the residents that the rehabilitation would be completed within four months.

‎Oseni said the intervention was part of his commitment to people-centred representation, stressing that his legislative activities had been focused on issues capable of improving the lives of Nigerians.

He said, “Within the three years plus, I have sponsored bills and moved motions that are carefully designed to positively impact the lives and livelihoods of citizens.”

According to him, some of the legislative initiatives include moves to amend the Federal Medical Centres Act to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Ido Local Government Area, stronger sanctions for contractors who fail to execute government projects according to specifications, and measures to improve accountability in the management of public contracts.

Oseni added that he had also advocated subsidised farm machinery for farmers, measures to reduce the cost of cancer treatment, improved food storage through modern silos and processing facilities, as well as urgent action on flooding and recurring building collapses in major cities among several others.

‎The lawmaker said his engagements with communities across Oyo South should not be viewed solely through the prism of the 2027 elections, despite the commencement of political activities.

“My visit here today is not to solicit for votes, but to listen and find practical ways to attend to the requests and plights of my people,” he said.

‎Oseni also disclosed that he had facilitated the distribution of 31 transformers across Ido and Ibarapa, with about 80 per cent of the cost funded through his foundation. He added that  other interventions had included solar-powered street lights, boreholes, bridges, public toilets, educational support,  infrastructure, health care services,  youth and women empowerment, and assistance to artisans, traders and markets across the senatorial district.

The APC chieftain further noted that some youths had also received N1 million each as seed capital to start small businesses.

‎Oseni acknowledged that his primary responsibility as a federal lawmaker was to make laws and provide effective representation, but said the gap created by ineffective governance at the grassroots had made it necessary for him to support communities through interventions.

He urged youths to remain focused and resilient, recounting how he worked as a bus conductor to raise money for his secondary education before becoming an engineer, businessman and legislator.

Earlier,  Chief Muibi Adegoke, Baale of Awonsoso, and Chief Azeez Saka, Baale of Elere Apata, commended the lawmaker for what they described as his performance in legislation and community development. They pledged their support for his political aspiration ahead of the 2027 election.

‎The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, religious leaders, community elders, women and youth leaders from the affected communities.

(c) Mega Icon Magazine 

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Oyo APC Guber Candidate, Alli, Celebrates Archbishop Wale Oke at 70

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2027 Oyo State election, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has congratulated the Archbishop of the Sword of the Spirit Ministries, Francis Wale Oke, on his 70th birthday.

Alli, in a statement on Tuesday, described the cleric as one of the foremost spiritual leaders produced by Ibadan, saying his contributions to the spread of Christianity had brought honour to Oyo State and impacted lives beyond Nigeria.

The senator described Oke as a “kingdom general” whose leadership and commitment to the gospel had positively influenced communities and nations across the world.

He said, “On behalf of my family and the APC family in Oyo State, I warmly congratulate one of our state’s most illustrious figures, Archbishop Francis Wale Oke, as he marks the landmark age of 70 years today.

“I join millions of Nigerians in celebrating a generational leader, a reformer and a dependable voice for peace and national development. Your dedication over the last five decades to destiny moulding, spiritual upliftment and the expansion of the Christian faith is unparalleled.”

Alli also commended the archbishop’s leadership qualities and his achievements in various capacities, particularly as the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria.

The APC candidate noted that Oke’s influence extended beyond the pulpit, describing his years of service as a testament to his commitment to spiritual development and nation-building.

He prayed for continued grace, good health and many more years of fruitful service for the celebrant.

“As you continue to expand the Kingdom and impact destinies, I pray for renewed grace, robust health and many more fruitful years. Ibadan and Oyo State are immensely proud to have you,” Alli added.

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