Headline

Israel Sends Dozens Of Tanks Into Southern Gaza

Published

2 years ago

December 4, 2023

Israel’s army on Monday sent dozens of tanks into southern Gaza as part of expanded action against Hamas despite global concern over mounting civilian deaths, and as communications was cut across the besieged territory.

Weeks after Israel deployed ground forces in the north of the Gaza Strip, the army has been air-dropping leaflets in parts of the south, telling Palestinians to flee to other areas.

Israel has vowed to crush Hamas in retaliation for the militant group’s unprecedented October 7 attacks that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 240 hostages taken, according to Israeli authorities.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says nearly 15,900 people have been killed in the territory, about 70 percent of them women and children, during Israel’s relentless air, artillery and naval bombardments alongside its ground campaign.

The toll has sparked global alarm and mass demonstrations.

The Elders, a group of global leaders, accused Israel of “disproportionate” action and called on governments providing military assistance to Israel to rethink their approach.

The group said in a statement Israel’s retaliation “has reached a level of inhumanity towards Palestinians in Gaza that is intolerable”.

“More killing is not the answer. Negotiation is the way to end this conflict,” they said.

Tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers were seen Monday near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, which is packed with internally displaced Palestinians, witnesses told AFP.

At the crowded entrance to the city’s Nasser hospital, ambulances and private cars delivered dazed, bloodied and dust-covered survivors.

Hoping to flee the bombardments, others continued to move further south, their belongings piled onto donkey carts, battered vehicles and even camels, but air strikes have followed them right to the southern border.

“People are pleading for advice on where to find safety,” Thomas White, Gaza director for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, wrote on social media. “We have nothing to tell them.”

Amin Abu Hawli, 59, said Israeli vehicles were two kilometres (1.2 miles) inside Gaza in the village of Al-Qarara, while Moaz Mohammed, 34, said Israeli tanks were moving down the strip’s main north-south highway.

The military was trying to cut the road between Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Yunis, “firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area,” Mohammed said.

The army said it was taking “aggressive” action against “Hamas and other terrorist organisations” in Khan Yunis, warning that the main road in the north and east of the city “constitutes a battlefield”.

Walaa Abu Libda found shelter at Deir al-Balah’s Al-Aqsa hospital but said her four-year-old daughter remained trapped under rubble.

“I don’t know if she is dead or alive,” said Libda, one of an estimated 1.8 million people displaced in Gaza — roughly three-quarters of the population, according to UN figures.

Three more Israeli soldiers were killed in clashes in the northern Gaza Strip, raising the number of troop deaths there to 75, the army said on Monday.

Full-scale fighting resumed Friday after the collapse of a week-long truce brokered by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, during which 80 Israeli hostages were freed in exchange for 240 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

More than two dozen Thai and other captives were also released from Gaza.

With at least 137 hostages still held in Gaza, according to the Israeli military, Hamas has ruled out more releases until a permanent ceasefire is agreed.

More air strikes also hit northern Gaza where Hamas’s armed wing reported clashes with Israeli tanks.

Rocket salvos were again fired from Gaza towards Israeli territory.

Like an earthquake
In the southern Gazan city of Rafah, resident Abu Jahar al-Hajj said an air strike near his home felt “like an earthquake”.

“Pieces of concrete started falling on us,” he said.

International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric, visiting Gaza, described the suffering as “intolerable”.

Conditions worsened further Monday with all mobile and telephone services across Gaza severed “due to the cut-off of main fibre routes from the Israeli side,” the Paltel company said.

Gazans were already short of food, water and other essentials including fuel.

Israel’s ally the United States has asked Israel to let more fuel in, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Monday.

The US intensified calls for the protection of Gaza’s civilians, and Miller voiced guarded praise for Israeli tactics as its campaign expands in the south.

“We’ve seen a much more targeted request for evacuations” than in the earlier campaign in the north, he said.

“So that is an improvement on what’s happened before.”

Israel said that it was not seeking to force Palestinian civilians to permanently leave their homes.

“We have asked civilians to evacuate the battlefield and we have provided a designated humanitarian zone inside the Gaza Strip,” military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said, referring to a tiny coastal area of the territory named Al-Mawasi.

Any suggestion of Palestinian dispersal is highly contentious in the Arab world as the war that led to Israel’s creation 75 years ago gave rise to the exodus or forced displacement of 760,000 Palestinians.

At the United Nations on Monday, Israel and Palestinian representatives traded accusations of “genocide” over the war, both sides demanding an international response.

With fears of a wider regional conflagration, the Israeli army said it had launched artillery strikes in response to cross-border fire from Lebanon and its fighter jets hit targets linked to Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The Israel-occupied West Bank has also seen a surge in violence, with more than 250 Palestinians killed there since the war began, according to Palestinian authorities.

The Palestinian Authority’s health ministry said Monday two more were shot dead in an Israeli raid on the town of Qalqilya, and a third in Qalandia refugee camp, while two were killed near Hebron.

Despite the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial, suspended along with some court activity when the war began, resumed Monday.

He is accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, which he denies.
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Headline

EU Fines Elon Musk’s X €120m For Violating Digital Content Rules

Published

19 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Editor

Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has been hit with a €120 million ($140 million) fine by European Union tech regulators for violating multiple provisions of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

This marks the first significant penalty imposed under this landmark legislation.

On Friday, the European Commission announced the fine, citing various violations by X, including misleading platform features and a lack of transparency in research practices.

Regulators pointed out that one of the violations involved the misleading design of the blue verification checkmark. This feature is now linked to subscription payments instead of identity validation, which the EU described as “deceptive and potentially harmful.”

The Commission also criticized X for not maintaining transparent advertising records and for restricting researchers’ access to publicly available data on the platform.

This ruling is likely to heighten diplomatic tensions between Brussels and Washington. U.S. officials from the Trump administration had previously condemned Europe’s regulatory approach toward major tech companies, claiming that EU policies unfairly target American firms and restrict free expression.

However, the European Commission defended its stance, stating that enforcement under the DSA is not influenced by nationality. They emphasized that the legislation is designed to promote online accountability, protect users, and ensure transparency in digital operations—standards that are increasingly becoming global benchmarks.

“The DSA does not discriminate by company origin,” the Commission argued, maintaining that the penalties reflect Europe’s commitment to protecting democratic values and responsible digital governance.

The fine marks a significant test case for the EU’s new regulatory regime and could set precedent for similar action against other platforms not in full compliance with the law.

Headline

Nigerian Ringleader Of Nationwide Bank Fraud, Money Laundering Jailed In US, Says FBI

Published

19 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Editor

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced the sentencing of Nigerian national Oluwaseun Adekoya, the mastermind behind a sprawling bank fraud and money-laundering operation that targeted victims across the United States.

According to investigators, Adekoya, who operated under multiple aliases including “Ace G.,” “BRODA,” “Legendary,” “SANTA,” “SANTANA,” “Sammy LaBanco,” “Sean Maison,” and “Kiing_maison” led a sophisticated criminal network that stole and laundered more than $2 million by impersonating individuals nationwide.

The FBI said the long-running operation, internally code-named Operation Catch Me if You Can, relied on coordinated efforts across numerous law enforcement and banking agencies.

Headline

VIDEO: Nigerians In UK Lament Delayed Passport Capturing At ‘Crowded’ Birmingham Centre

Published

19 hours ago

December 6, 2025

Editor

Nigerians in the United Kingdom (UK) have cried out to the Nigerian authorities over delays in renewing their international passports, describing the capturing experience as frustrating.

According to a video from the Nigerian Passport Intervention Centre in Birmingham, sighted by Tribune Online, hundreds of people are seen lurking around while waiting for officials to arrive for the exercise.

In the video, a lady narrated how the crowd had gathered since around 4am on Friday after their names had been taken down the previous day with the promise that the capturing would be done the next day.

“They promised they’re going to start at 9am and at 12pm when I was leaving, they’ve not even started attending to people. We heard that the officials were not even at the scene,” she said.

Continuing, the video showed the arrival of some of the officials, whom the lady said had asked the crowd to return the next day.

“While I was walking to my taxi, I saw some of the officials. I recognised them from yesterday when he addressed the people saying ‘Go and come back tomorrow’. The one driving that car was the one who was addressing us yesterday,” she added, referring to a vehicle in the viral clip.

The lady further criticised their attitude to the plight of Nigerians at the centre, saying many, including herself, came with babies.

“It’s so shameful that Nigeria will still happen to you even if you’re outside Nigeria. It’s the people, not only the government,” she added.

Reacting to the video, another user simply identified as OduduAbasi Umo-Odiong, posted two short clips showing people agitated at the centre.

“People are already getting agitated today. The frustration is rising and the situation is becoming tense,” he captioned.

However, an X user, identified as Williams Ibironke, disagreed with the information in the video, saying the officials work till midnight.

“The information she posted was purposely made as content to miss direct people. those pple are working til midnight everyday, they closed @3am so how can they resume early again. I did mine @12:33am this morning and I still left people there, meaning they may not close until 2am,” he posted.

Other X users reacting to the video called on the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, to act swiftly on the issue, wondering how the positive reform he introduced is addressing the issue.

“Someone has fingered a working system to their benefit. Just a few weeks ago, you can start and finish your passport renewal process on your mobile phone without leaving your home.

“What happened to that positive change?,” a user asked.

All possible efforts to get Nigerian authorities’ reaction to the issue proved abortive as of the time of filing this report as neither the Minister nor the Interior Ministry responded to messages sent to them.

Watch video here

Source: Nigerian Tribune