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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 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.
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