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Israel-Palestinian conflict escalates as rockets fly, street violence flares

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Israeli soldiers fire a 155mm self-propelled howitzer towards the Gaza Strip from their position near the southern Israeli city of Sderot on May 13, 2021. Menahem KAHANA / AFP

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.

 

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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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