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 lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Engr. Aderemi Oseni, has mourned the death of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State and former member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Akeem Abimbola Oladipupo, popularly known as Able, describing his demise as a painful loss to the progressive family.
Oladipupo, who represented Ibadan North-West Constituency in the Oyo State House of Assembly, was widely regarded as a grassroots politician and committed party loyalist until his passing.
Oseni, who is also the Chairman, House Committee on Federal Roads Maintenance Agency and the APC candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District, said the late politician’s death had created a vacuum within the party and among those who benefitted from his unwavering commitment to public service.
In a condolence statement issued on Monday by his Media Aide, Idowu Ayodele, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the federal lawmaker described the late Oladipupo as a dependable progressive, humble political actor and loyal party stalwart whose impact would remain indelible.
He said the deceased dedicated his life to serving humanity, strengthening the progressive movement and supporting the aspirations of many at the grassroots.
Oseni said, “The death of Hon. Akeem Abimbola Oladipupo (Able) came to me as a rude shock. Oyo State and the progressive family have indeed lost a committed, loyal and selfless leader whose passion for service, humility and dedication to the people stood him out.
“He was not just a politician but a bridge-builder, a dependable ally and a grassroots mobiliser who believed strongly in the ideals of our great party. His contributions to the growth of the APC in Oyo State and his service to humanity will remain unforgettable.”
The APC senatorial candidate noted that the late former lawmaker remained steadfast in promoting peace, unity and political development, adding that his simplicity and accessibility endeared him to many across political divides.
According to Oseni, the late politician’s legacy of service and sacrifice would continue to inspire younger politicians and party faithful.
He, however, urged members of the APC, associates and family members of the deceased to take solace in the remarkable life he lived and the positive impact he made during his lifetime.
Oseni also prayed for the repose of the deceased’s soul and for God to grant his family the fortitude to bear the painful loss.
State governors have proposed a new national minimum wage of N100,000 for Nigerian workers as part of efforts to cushion them from the biting effects of inflation and the rising cost of living.
Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), disclosed the proposal on Saturday in a post by the state government’s official Facebook page. He said the move aims to improve workers’ welfare while ensuring that government finances remain sustainable.
“State governments recognise the urgent need to improve workers’ welfare in response to the current economic realities facing Nigerians,” AbdulRazaq said.
“We are actively engaging with the Federal Government and organised labour to arrive at a wage structure that is fair to workers and sustainable for government finances.”
The NGF chairman explained that ongoing discussions are focused on balancing the need to boost workers’ purchasing power with the capacity of governments to deliver essential public services and development projects.
“The goal is to improve the living conditions of workers while ensuring that states can continue to meet their obligations and sustain projects that directly impact citizens,” he added.
The proposed N100,000 minimum wage is expected to intensify national debates on salaries, inflation, and broader economic reforms as Nigerians continue to contend with rising food prices, transportation costs, and other living expenses.
Currently, Nigeria’s statutory minimum wage stands at N70,000 per month. Some states, including Lagos, Rivers, and Imo, are already paying above the national benchmark to support workers amid the country’s economic challenges.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has continued to call for a comprehensive review of salaries, insisting that workers deserve a living wage that reflects present-day economic realities rather than merely guaranteeing survival.
The average retail price paid by consumers for Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, rose to N1,532.93 per litre in April 2026, representing a 23.69 per cent increase compared to the N1,239.33 recorded in the corresponding period of 2025, findings by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have shown.
The sharp rise in petrol prices came amid mounting inflationary pressure and worsening living costs, with Nigerians grappling with soaring transportation and food expenses that have continued to shrink household purchasing power.
The NBS disclosed this in its Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for April 2026, released on Friday.
The report further showed that on a month-on-month basis, petrol prices rose by 18.97 per cent from N1,288.54 recorded in March 2026, underscoring persistent volatility in the downstream petroleum market.
A breakdown of prices across states revealed that Yobe recorded the highest average retail price for petrol at N1,599.05 per litre during the review period.
Edo and Bauchi followed closely with average prices of N1,595.74 and N1,589.07, respectively.
However, Niger residents paid the least for petrol at an average of N1,403.89 per litre, while Sokoto and Katsina recorded N1,404.16 and N1,406.28 respectively.
At the zonal level, the South-South recorded the highest average retail price at N1,566.76 per litre, while the North-West posted the lowest at N1,508.81.
The latest petrol price increase comes as millions of Nigerians continue to battle the ripple effects of rising inflation, with higher energy costs worsening transportation fares and the prices of essential commodities.
Similarly, the NBS said the average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, also known as cooking gas, rose by 13.73 per cent month-on-month to N8,706.93 in April 2026 from N7,655.73 recorded in March.
On a year-on-year basis, the price increased by 10.42 per cent from N7,885.60 recorded in April 2025.
Lagos recorded the highest average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N9,745.10, followed by Nasarawa at N9,451.70 and Bayelsa at N9,422.74.
In contrast, Anambra recorded the lowest average price at N7,204.76, while Ondo and Ogun followed with N7,239.49 and N7,825.75, respectively.
At the regional level, the North-West recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 5kg cylinder at N9,025.07, followed by the North-East at N8,847.16, while the South-East posted the lowest average price at N8,224.37.
Also, the average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas increased by 13.89 per cent month-on-month to N22,382.20 in April 2026 from N19,652.83 in March.
Compared to April 2025, the price rose by 10.43 per cent from N20,268.06.
According to the NBS LPG Price Watch for April, Katsina recorded the highest average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at N25,596.71, followed by Kogi at N24,558.25 and Gombe at N24,438.97.
Ogun recorded the lowest average price at N19,564.36, while Bauchi and Anambra followed at N20,178.87 and N20,511.90 respectively.
The North-West recorded the highest zonal average retail price for refilling a 12.5kg cylinder at N23,276.95, followed by the North-Central at N22,865.29, while the South-East posted the lowest average at N21,060.92.
The latest figures signal growing pressure on household energy costs, raising concerns over the implications for inflation and the cost of living in the coming months.
-
News1 week agoEid: Oseni Calls for Vigilance, Lauds Security Operatives
-
Politics6 days agoAlli, Folarin, Adedeji, Oseni, Dare Named to APC Ekiti Re-election Campaign Team
-
News1 week agoOyo Abduction: SWEGOP Demands Swift Rescue of Pupils, Teachers
-
News1 week agoFG Declares May 27, 28 Public Holidays for Eid-ul-Adha Celebration
