₦airaland Forum

Israeli airstrikes pounded the Gaza Strip city of Rafah Saturday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to prepare a plan to evacuate civilians from the southern border city ahead of an expected ground invasion.

The Associated Press, citing health officials and eyewitnesses, reported 28 people were killed when airstrikes hit several homes in the Rafah area. AP said the dead included 10 children.

Netanyahu’s office said Friday the military was ordered to develop a plan to evacuate civilians in Rafah and destroy four Hamas battalions it said was deployed there.

“It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat.”

The statement did not say by when he wanted the plan or to where he thought the more than 1.4 million Palestinians could evacuate. United Nations officials have repeatedly said nowhere in Gaza is safe.

Rafah borders Egypt and officials there have warned that any ground operation in the area or mass displacement across the border would undermine its 40-year-old peace treaty with Israel.

It is also the main humanitarian entry point to Gaza; intense fighting could further hamper relief efforts.

Meanwhile, Syria said Israeli airstrikes Saturday hit several sites outside the capital, Damascus. State media quoted Syrian military officials as saying the strikes came from the direction of Israeli-held Golan Heights. The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three people were killed in the strikes.

The strikes come as tensions across the Middle East have intensified following the October 7 Hamas attack against Israel and a drone attack in January that killed three U.S. soldiers in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian border.

U.S. warning

Netanyahu’s announcement came hours after U.S. President Joe Biden delivered some of his strongest criticism yet of the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, calling Israel’s conduct in the military operation “over the top” during a news conference late Thursday.

The Pentagon said Friday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, Thursday. In their discussions, the U.S. defense chief “reiterated the need to protect civilians as Israel conducts its operations against Hamas.”

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby also issued a stern warning to Israel about Rafah.

"Absent any full consideration of protecting civilians at that scale in Gaza, military operations right now would be a disaster for those people, and it's not something that we would support," he told reporters Thursday.

U.N. cautions

His comments echoed those of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said there would be the risk of a "gigantic tragedy" if the Israel Defense Forces expanded its offensive into the town.

“We would not support in any way forced displacement, which goes against international law,” a Guterres spokesperson told reporters Friday about a potential evacuation of Rafah.
The head of the U.N. agency that assists Palestinians said there is a growing sense of anxiety and panic in the town because people do not know where to go.

“Any large-scale military operation among this population can only lead to an additional layer of endless tragedy that's unfolding," said UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said.

Catherine Russell, the executive director of UNICEF, said, “An escalation of the fighting in Rafah, which is already straining under the extraordinary number of people who have been displaced from other parts of Gaza, will mark another devastating turn in a war that has reportedly killed over 27,000 people — most of them women and children.

“Thousands more could die in the violence or by lack of essential services and further disruption of humanitarian assistance,” Russell said. “We need Gaza’s last remaining hospitals, shelters, markets and water systems to stay functional. Without them, hunger and disease will skyrocket, taking more child lives.”

Amnesty International urged Antananarivo to drop the proposed law, saying it would not resolve the problem of paedophilia.

Madagascar’s justice minister defended a new bill Friday to castrate child rapists, with the measure deemed “cruel, inhuman and degrading” by Amnesty International.

The upper house Senate approved the measure permitting chemical and surgical castration Wednesday after it had been voted through by the National Assembly earlier this month.

Amnesty International urged Antananarivo to drop the proposed law, saying it would not resolve the problem of paedophilia.

But Justice Minister Landy Mbolatiana Randriamanantenasoa told AFP that the large Indian ocean island “is a sovereign country that has every right to amend its laws”.

Up till now the minimum sentence for child rape was five years’ imprisonment, the minister added.

The bill, seen by AFP, introduces a penalty of surgical castration for “perpetrators of rape committed on a child under the age of 10”.

It allows “chemical or surgical” castration for rapists of children aged between 10 and 13 and chemical castration for rapists of minors aged between 13 and 18.

The measure must still be validated by the High Constitutional Court before President Andry Rajoelina can sign it into law.

Amnesty’s regional director Tigere Chagutah said legal castration was “inconsistent with Malagasy constitutional provisions against torture and other ill-treatment, as well as regional and international human rights standards.”

But Jessica Lolonirina Nivoseheno, of the Women Break the Silence movement, said castration could be a “deterrent” to a “rape culture” on the island, where many cases “are settled amicably within the family”.

Amnesty said “rape cases remain under-reported, and perpetrators often go free due to the victims’ and their families’ fear of retaliation, stigmatisation, and a lack of trust in the judicial system.”
Its Madagascar adviser Nciko wa Nciko criticised the law for failing to “focus on the victims”.

“Castration causes serious and irreversible harm. And we can have cases where an individual is found guilty and the courts (then) go back on the verdict and clear his name”, he told AFP.

President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, inducted two TK-129 ATAK Helicopters and a King Air 360i Aircraft at Nigeria Air (NAF) Base, Makurdi, the Benue State capital.

President Tinubu, who was represented at the event by Vice President Kashim Shettima, recalled the commissioning and induction of four additional Diamond-62 surveillance aircraft into the arsenal of the Nigerian Air Force about two months ago, saying it was a symbol of his government’s enduring commitment to the ideals of patriotism and investment in the nation’s security.

The two helicopters were inducted as NAF 500 and NAF 501, respectively, and King Air 360i aircraft as NAF 205 into the Service of the Nigerian Air Force.

The occasion was witnessed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas; Minister of Defence, Mohammed Abubakar Badaru; Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State; some members of the National Assembly from Benue State and members of the State House of Assembly, among others.

Fuckyoumod:
I wonder why a super star like Alves, a star that should be worshipped by women should be involved in cases of sexual harassment.

uba1991:
I believe the warning is unnecessary.

It’s been a year since Syria’s ‘miracle baby’, Afraa, was born under the rubble of her collapsed home following back-to-back earthquakes. Now, one year after losing her parents and siblings, she reaches her first birthday.

ivolt:
So many criminals have gone down for committing crimes.

thaoriginator:



Israel is going down 👇🏾

Sirmwill:
Omo

That's a lot of money tho 🥺

Whichever ways

Israel won't stop anytime soon

immortalcrown:
To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

The warning is necessary because xenophobia has shown that Sauth Africans can attack Nigerians for any reason at any time.

A diplomatic row has broken out between Nigeria and South Africa ahead of the two sides' semi-final match at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday.

The Nigerian High Commission in South Africa warned Nigerian football fans to refrain from boisterous celebrations if their team wins.

That warning was intended to prevent the provocation of xenophobic attacks by frustrated South African supporters.

But South Africa says that this has only created "false alarm".

There has been a long-standing rivalry between the two footballing giants - the Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana.

But in its statement on Tuesday, South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said there was "no history of soccer hooliganism among South Africans" at matches against Nigeria.

"We are confident that the sports-loving nation of South Africa poses no threat to Nigerian citizens, and we do not agree with the apprehension expressed by the High Commission," Dirco added.

"The advisory is regrettable because it seems to create alarm and unnecessary tension between the citizens of South Africa and Nigerians living in or visiting South Africa."

Nigeria has yet to respond to the statement from South African officials.

In recent years, South Africa has seen a wave of xenophobic attacks against Africans who have moved there from elsewhere in the continent, often for better economic opportunities.

In its statement earlier on Tuesday, Nigeria's diplomatic service said it was issuing the warning because it had seen evidence of "veiled threats" by South Africans online.

It advised Nigerians living in South Africa to "be watchful of their utterances, be mindful of where they choose to watch the match especially in public places, and refrain from engaging in loud, riotous or provocative celebrations should the Super Eagles win".

Kick-off is at 17:00 GMT on Wednesday in the Ivorian city of Bouaké.

The other semi-final is between the hosts Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fahdiga:
No human being is above the law

God1000:
The vice President yemi Osinbajo was in oyo town yesterday to commiserate with the government and people of oyo state over the demise of late alaafin oba lamidi Adeyemi III

lordm:
Only the dead has seen the end of war