News

Hamas Attacks Aid Workers In Gaza, Kills Five

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2025

A US- and Israeli-backed charity operating in Gaza accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of attacking aid workers en route to a distribution centre on Wednesday, saying at least five people were killed.

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said a bus carrying its staff to a distribution site near Khan Yunis in the south was “brutally attacked by Hamas” around 10:00 pm (1900 GMT).

“We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,” GHF said in a statement.

In an email to AFP, the group added that all five of the people killed were Palestinian aid workers for GHF.

“These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons, and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others,” the group said in its statement condemning the attack.

The distribution of food and basic supplies in the besieged Gaza Strip has become increasingly fraught and perilous, exacerbating the territory’s deep hunger crisis.

Dozens of Palestinians have been killed while trying to reach distribution points since late May, according to Gaza’s civil defence.

It said Israeli forces killed 31 people waiting for aid on Wednesday.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment about the incident.

– ‘Died while waiting’ –

The GHF, an officially private effort with opaque funding, began operating on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking international outcry and warnings of imminent famine.

During its first week of operations, the GHF said it distributed more than seven million meals’ worth of food, but its operations were heavily criticised even before the string of deadly incidents near its sites.

The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.

The amount of aid being allowed back into the territory, meanwhile, has been described as only a trickle.

Gaza’s medics have said hospitals were being inundated with people attacked while trying to obtain food.

Al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat Camp said early Thursday that four people were killed and 100 wounded in an overnight Israeli drone attack on a gathering at an aid distribution site close to a key checkpoint along the road to northern Gaza.

At Gaza City’s Al-Shifa Hospital, the emergency room said it had started receiving dozens of victims who had been waiting for aid, including 200 in a single day.

“Many Gazans went to the Nabulsi and Netzarim areas to receive aid and were shot at and shelled with tanks,” said Mutaz Harara, head of Al-Shifa’s emergency department.

But with few medical supplies and no operating rooms, “many patients died while waiting for their turn”, he said.

– Convoys through Egypt? –

To combat the widespread shortages, two activist convoys are attempting to transport supplies to the Gaza border themselves.

The Soumoud convoy — meaning steadfastness in Arabic — left Tunis in buses and cars on Monday, hoping to pass through divided Libya and Egypt.

The Global March to Gaza, which is coordinating with Soumoud, said it is organising a separate mobilisation starting in Cairo on Friday.

The plan entails participants marching through the heavily securitised Sinai Peninsula on foot and camping on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.

Israel’s defence minister objected to the mobilisation and said he expects Egyptian authorities to prevent the arrival of jihadist protesters at the Egypt-Israel border.

Such actions “would endanger the safety of (Israeli) soldiers and will not be allowed,” Defence Minister Israel Katz said Wednesday.

Egypt said that while it backs efforts to put “pressure on Israel” to lift its blockade on Gaza, any foreign delegations seeking to visit the border area must receive prior approval.

With international and domestic pressure on the Israeli government mounting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu survived the latest challenge to his right-wing coalition early Thursday.

A bill to dissolve parliament — which could have led to snap polls — was narrowly defeated, with 61 members of the Knesset voting against it, and 53 in favour.

The opposition had hoped to leverage dissatisfaction with Netanyahu over proposals to enlist ultra-Orthodox men typically exempt from the military draft. But ultimately, the ultra-Orthodox parties did not back the effort.

The Gaza war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the retaliatory Israeli military offensive has killed at least 55,104 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers these figures to be reliable.

Out of 251 taken hostage during the Hamas attack, 54 are still held in Gaza, including 32, the Israeli military says, are dead.
AFP

News

Group Commends COREN For Training Engineers In Engineering Failure, Forensic Investigation In Nigeria

Published

3 hours ago

September 25, 2026

Editor

Foundation for the Development of Shira Community (FODESCO) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi state has commended the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for conducting a pioneer training on Engineering Failure and Forensic Investigation (EFFI) for 50 licensed engineering practitioners across the country.

Engr. Shehu Wakili, the Chairman of the Foundation made the commendation in an interview with newsmen on Friday.

According to him, the training which was conducted by COREN in collaboration with the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), was to equip engineers and professionals from academia, industry, and government MDAs with practical skills to investigate infrastructure failures and prevent recurring building collapses.

He added that the training was also to build a pool of trained specialists who could investigate building collapses and other engineering failures, determine their root causes, and recommend measures to prevent recurrence, saying that the trainees would form part of a register of trained and certified forensic engineering investigators.

He further lauded COREN for the subsequent induction of its member, Engr. Abdullahi Muhammad MNSE, who among the 50 participants, hails from Bauchi state as a Chartered Engineering Forensic and Failure Investigator (CEFFI), certified by CIFCFIN.

“FODESCO is proud of him and wishes him well in all his endeavours”, he prayed.

Wakili, also the Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Bauchi state chapter, revealed that the training covered failure analysis, forensic investigation methodologies, risk assessment, and professional reporting.

“This initiative supports broader efforts by COREN and the National Assembly to enforce stricter building codes, identify quackery, and ensure accountability across the construction sector,” he said.

News

NBS: Lagos, Rivers, Enugu Top List As States Generated N5.15trn In 2025

Published

3 hours ago

September 25, 2026

Editor

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that 36 states and the FCT generated a total of ₦5.15 trillion in 2025, indicating a growth rate of 40.93 percent from ₦3.65 trillion recorded in 2024.

NBS stated on Thursday citing the Nigeria Revenue Service ( NRS) as source of its information that Lagos emerged top on the list of states with the highest revenue generation in the sum of ₦1.77 trillion.

“Followed by Rivers state ₦428.42 billion and Enugu with IGR record of ₦406.77 billion in the period referenced.”

The. Bureau said Yobe, Ebonyi and Sokoto states reported the least revenues with ₦16.01 billion, ₦17.18 billion and ₦20.48 billion, respectively.

According to NBS, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) was the most tax revenue recorded during the period, valued at ₦2.64 trillion, representing 69.51 percent of the total tax revenue collected, while capital gains tax was the least with ₦12.40 billion while the share of total tax revenue to total IGR was 73.64 percent nationally.

“Other states and their share of IGR are FCT – N356.34 billion, Ogun – N252.36 billion, Delta – N202.49 billion, Edo – N132.21 billion, Oyo – N103.25 billion and Kano – N102.26 billion.

“Ten other states in lowest category of IGR include Yobe – N16.01 billion, Ebonyi – N17.18 billion, Sokoto – N20.48 billion, Taraba – N28.16 billion ; Benue – N29.57 billion, Zamfara – N30.07 billion, Kebbi – N31.23 billion, Nasarawa – N32.57 billion, Adamawa – N33.76 billion andcBorno – N36.36 billion “.

NBS noted that the states generated their most and least revenue from taxes and other government sources. “PAYE was the dominant revenue source nationally, generating N2.64 trillion and accounting for 69.51% of total tax revenue for the year.

“Other sources included direct assessment, road taxes, stamp duties, withholding taxes and capital gains tax, which was the smallest contributor at N12.40 billion,” the Bureau stated.

News

Osun Police Arrest Suspect In Emir Ajagungbade’s Murder Probe

Published

3 hours ago

September 25, 2026

Editor

The Osun State Police Command has reportedly arrested Waliyi Adejare, popularly known as Jay Jay, at Oke Baale area of Osogbo, Osun State, as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the murder of Lekan Oyeyemi, popularly known as Emir Ajagungbade.

Adejare was reportedly taken into police custody on Thursday. Sources familiar with the development described him as one of the suspects being investigated in connection with the killing, which occurred amid the crisis that has continued to trail activities around motor parks in Osun State.

However, the police have cautioned against conclusively linking the suspect to the murder at this stage, stressing that investigations into both his arrest and the killing are still ongoing.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Osun State, Abiodun Ojelabi, who confirmed the arrest, said it was too early to establish whether Adejare was arrested specifically in connection with the murder of Emir.

Ojelabi said the command was still conducting a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the suspect’s arrest and determine whether or not he had any connection with the killing.

According to him, the police would make their findings public after the completion of the investigation, urging members of the public to await the outcome of the ongoing process rather than relying on unverified claims concerning the suspect.

Reliable information obtained on the development indicated that Adejare, also known as Jay Jay, was apprehended in the Oke Baale area of Osogbo during an operation by the police on Thursday.

Sources also alleged that Adejare had previously served in the Nigerian Navy before reportedly leaving the service and subsequently becoming associated with individuals suspected of criminal activities in Osogbo and its environs.

The latest arrest comes against the backdrop of heightened security attention following the killing of Emir, which triggered renewed concerns over violence and rival interests surrounding motor park operations in the state.

Following the incident, the state government announced measures affecting the activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, while the police commenced investigations into the circumstances surrounding the killing and other developments arising from the crisis.