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Israel hits media building housing Al Jazeera, AP in Gaza

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TOPSHOT – Smoke billows from an Israeli airstrike on the Hanadi compound in Gaza City, controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement, on May 11, 2021. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP

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”.

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Iran War Disrupts Oil Supply, Global Loss Hits $50bn

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The global oil market has recorded losses exceeding $50bn following massive supply disruptions triggered by the ongoing Iran war, which has now stretched to nearly 50 days.

Data from energy analytics firm Kpler showed that more than 500 million barrels of crude oil and condensate have been wiped off the global market since the crisis began in late February, making it the largest energy supply disruption in modern history.

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, on Friday said the Strait of Hormuz had been reopened after a ceasefire agreement reached in Lebanon.

However, tensions escalated again on Saturday as Tehran warned it could shut the strategic waterway if the United States sustains its blockade of Iranian ports.

Also, U.S. President Donald Trump expressed optimism that a deal to end the conflict could be reached “soon,” although he did not provide a definite timeline.

Analysts warned that the scale of disruption could have prolonged effects on global energy stability, with shocks expected to linger for months or even years.

Providing context, Principal Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, Iain Mowat, said the 500 million barrels lost is equivalent to grounding global aviation demand for 10 weeks, halting all road transport worldwide for 11 days, or shutting down the entire global oil supply for five days.

Further estimates showed that the lost volume is nearly equal to one month of oil demand in the United States or more than a month’s supply for Europe. It also represents about six years of fuel consumption by the U.S. military and could power global shipping activities for approximately four months.

The crisis has significantly affected oil-producing nations in the Gulf, with output losses reaching about eight million barrels per day in March—roughly equivalent to the combined production of two of the world’s largest oil companies.

Jet fuel exports from major producers, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, dropped sharply from 19.6 million barrels in February to just 4.1 million barrels recorded across March and April combined. Analysts said the shortfall could have powered about 20,000 round-trip international flights.

With crude prices averaging around $100 per barrel since the onset of the conflict, the lost volumes translate to an estimated $50bn in revenue. Experts noted that this figure is equivalent to about one per cent of Germany’s annual Gross Domestic Product, or roughly the size of the economies of smaller European countries.

Meanwhile, global onshore crude inventories have declined by about 45 million barrels in April alone, while total production outages have risen to approximately 12 million barrels per day since late March.

Industry experts cautioned that unless a lasting resolution is reached, the disruption could intensify volatility in global oil markets, worsen inflationary pressures, and further strain fragile economies worldwide.

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Oseni Secures Prestigious City People Political Award Nomination

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A member of the House of Representatives representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency and Chairman of the House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency, Aderemi Oseni, has been nominated for a Special Award in Politics at the 2026 City People Political Awards.

The nomination was conveyed in a letter dated April 13, 2026, signed by the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of City People Magazine, Seye Kehinde.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by Oseni’s media aide, Idowu Ayodele, and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Thursday.

According to the statement, the lawmaker earned the nomination in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to politics in Oyo State, particularly in Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency.”

The organisers noted that Oseni emerged as a nominee following a comprehensive review of performances across sectors by the award’s selection committee.

Part of the letter read, “Having performed creditably well in your sector last year, the Organising Committee presented you as a nominee in your sector.”

The award ceremony is scheduled to hold on Sunday, May 3, 2026, at Etal Hall, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos, at 4pm.

The City People Awards is an annual event that recognises individuals who have distinguished themselves in governance, public service and other sectors of national development.

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Kaduna Electric to prosecute, expose attackers of staff

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The Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company has announced a crackdown on individuals who assault its staff, warning that offenders will face prosecution and public exposure.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the company expressed concern over what it described as a “disturbing surge” in attacks on its field workers and third-party partners.

It noted that the affected personnel were mainly engaged in meter installation, revenue collection and maintenance of electricity infrastructure.

According to the firm, the increasing cases of harassment, physical assault and unlawful detention of its workers pose a serious threat to employee safety and the stability of electricity service delivery across its franchise areas.

The Deputy Managing Director, Abubakar Mohammed, said the company would no longer tolerate any form of aggression against its workforce.

“Let this serve as a clear warning to anyone who engages in the assault of our staff. Kaduna Electric will pursue every case to its logical conclusion,” he said.

“We will work closely with security agencies to ensure offenders are brought to justice and face the full weight of the law,” Mohammed added.

He further disclosed that the company would publicly reveal the identities of individuals found culpable.

According to him, names, photographs and other details of offenders would be published on the company’s official platforms as well as in national and local media.

“This measure is intended to ensure accountability and serve as a strong deterrent. Anyone who chooses to attack our personnel should be prepared not only to face prosecution but also public exposure,” he added.

The company stressed that assaults on utility workers attract serious legal and financial consequences, noting that offenders risk criminal charges that may lead to fines or imprisonment.

It added that perpetrators could also face civil liabilities, including compensation for medical treatment, psychological trauma and loss of work hours.
While condemning the attacks, Kaduna Electric urged customers to adopt peaceful and lawful means of resolving disputes.

It advised aggrieved customers to channel complaints through its customer service units or appropriate regulatory bodies.

The management reaffirmed its commitment to protecting its workforce and partners, stressing that a safe working environment is essential for delivering reliable and efficient electricity services.

Although disputes between electricity providers and consumers are often linked to billing issues, metering challenges and service delivery concerns, the company maintained that such matters must be resolved through dialogue, insisting that violence against its staff will no longer be tolerated.

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