News
Israel-Palestinian conflict escalates as rockets fly, street violence flares
Israel faced an escalating conflict on two fronts Thursday, scrambling to quell riots between Arabs and Jews on its own streets after days of exchanging deadly fire with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Despite diplomatic efforts to halt the violence, which US President Joe Biden said he hoped would end “sooner than later”, hundreds of rockets tore through the skies over the Gaza Strip overnight.
Israel’s civil aviation authority said it had diverted all incoming passenger flights headed for Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport to Ramon airport in the south, due to the rocket fire.
Air raid warnings went off across Israel, including in the country’s north for the first time in years — which the army later said was a “false alarm”.
Israel’s air force launched multiple strikes, targeting what it described as locations linked to the “counterintelligence infrastructure” of Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, as well as the house of Iyad Tayeb, one of the movement’s commanders.
In Gaza, 67 people have been killed so far — including 17 children — and nearly 400 wounded in days of near relentless Israeli air strikes.
Palestinian men stand amidst debris near the al-Sharouk tower, which housed the bureau of the Al-Aqsa television channel in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, after it was destroyed by an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City, on May 13, 2021. MOHAMMED ABED / AFP
On Wednesday, Hamas announced the death of its military chief in Gaza City, Bassem Issa, with the Israeli military saying it had killed three other senior figures as well.
Israeli strikes also destroyed a tower block housing Palestinian television channel Al-Aqsa, set up by Hamas.
Israel said Palestinian militants had launched around 1,600 rockets into its territory since Monday evening.
Seven people have been killed, including one six-year-old after a rocket struck the family home in southern Israel, the United Hatzalah volunteer rescue service said.
The past few days have seen the most intense hostilities in seven years between Israel and Gaza’s armed groups, triggered by weekend unrest at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
‘Pogrom’
Coinciding with the aerial bombardments is surging violence between Arabs and Jews inside Israel.
On Wednesday night, Israeli far-right groups took to the streets across the country, clashing with security forces and Arab Israelis.
Police said they had responded to violent incidents in multiple towns, including Lod, Acre and Haifa, confirming 374 arrests shortly past midnight.
A truck burns at the entrance of the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod, where a state of emergency has been declared following civil unrest, on May 12, 2021. Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP
Israeli television aired footage of a far-right mob beating a man they considered an Arab until he lay unconscious on his back in a street in Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv.
“The victim of the lynching is seriously injured but stable,” Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital said, without identifying him.
A state of emergency has been declared in the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod, where a synagogue and other Jewish property has been torched and an Arab resident was shot dead.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, in unusually strong language, denounced what he described as a “pogrom” in which “an incited and bloodthirsty Arab mob” had injured people and attacked sacred Jewish spaces.
In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian man was killed during a confrontation with Israeli soldiers near the northern city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry said Thursday.
The death brings the number killed in clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in the West Bank to three on Wednesday alone.
“What has been happening these last few days in Israeli towns is unacceptable… Nothing justifies the lynching of Arabs by Jews and nothing justifies the lynching of Jews by Arabs,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, adding that Israel was fighting a battle “on two fronts”.
Stalled diplomacy
The UN Security Council has already held two closed-door videoconferences since Monday, with the United States — a close Israel ally — opposing adoption of a joint declaration, which it said would not “help de-escalate” the situation.
Netanyahu spoke later Wednesday with Biden, who said: “Israel has a right to defend itself”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, urging an end to the rocket attacks.
Blinken had said earlier that a US envoy would travel to the Middle East to seek to calm tensions.
But the Israeli government has warned that “this is only the beginning”, and military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said strikes on Gaza would continue as Israel prepares for “multiple scenarios”.
“We have ground units that are prepared and are in various stages of preparing ground operations,” he told reporters Thursday.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has also threatened to step up attacks, warning that “if Israel wants to escalate, we are ready for it”.
The crisis flared last Friday when weeks of tensions boiled over and Israeli riot police clashed with crowds of Palestinians at Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
Nightly disturbances have since gripped Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, leaving more than 900 Palestinians injured, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The unrest has been driven by anger over the looming evictions of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem.
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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