Headline

Israeli Army Admits Failure On Oct 7, Says It Underestimated Hamas

Published

4 months ago

February 28, 2025

An internal Israeli army investigation into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack released on Thursday acknowledged the military’s “complete failure” to prevent the deadly assault, saying that for years it had underestimated the group’s capabilities.

The attack, which left hundreds of Israelis dead, sparked a devastating war in Gaza, which killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

“October 7 was a complete failure, the IDF (military) failed in fulfilling its mission to protect Israeli civilians,” a senior Israeli military official said as he briefed reporters about the inquiry’s findings.

“Too many civilians died that day asking themselves in their hearts or out loud, where was the IDF,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity in accordance with military protocols.

In a summary of the report shared with journalists, the military said: “The Israel Defense Forces failed to protect Israeli citizens. The Gaza Division was overrun in the early hours of the war, as terrorists took control and carried out massacres in the communities and roads in the area.”

The military official explained that the army was “overconfident” and had miscalculated Hamas’s military capabilities ahead of the attack.

The inquiry, which includes 77 separate investigations into what transpired in communities, army bases and multiple confrontation points around the Gaza periphery, is in the process of being presented to those directly affected.

This is still only a “slither of the whole process”, the official said. Additional inquiries, including one into what happened at a music festival in the desert, are still to come.

– Among army’s ‘greatest failures’ –

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures, which include hostages killed in captivity.

Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 48,365 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

“This was one of the most horrific events ever to take place in Israel,” the army official said. “It was one of the IDF’s greatest failures.”

The official said the inquiry was carried out over 15 months and focuses on four key areas: military perceptions ahead of October 7; intelligence failures; events the night prior to the attack; and the army’s actions on the day along with its efforts to regain control in the days that followed.

“We did not even imagine such a scenario,” the army official said, noting that Israel’s attention was on threats from Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah.

The official said the army had not maintained “a comprehensive understanding of the enemy’s military capabilities” and that it was “overconfident in its knowledge”.

“We were addicted to precise intel,” a second senior military official said, explaining that despite signs Hamas was preparing to attack, the army was too focused on what it believed was accurate information.

– Three waves of attacks –

The probe found that Hamas’s attack happened in three waves and saw more than 5,000 people enter Israel from Gaza at its height.

“The first wave… included more than 1,000 Nukhba (Hamas’s elite force) terrorists, who infiltrated under the cover of heavy fire,” the summary of the report said.

It said the second wave involved some 2,000 militants while the third saw hundreds more militants join the incursion, along with several thousand civilians.

“In total, approximately 5,000 terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory during the attack,” the report said. Hamas has maintained that hundreds of its fighters had carried out the attack.

The official said the first few hours of the attack were critical and saw the most killings and abductions.

It was then that Hamas’s elite unit knocked out the military’s communications system and its command and control centres, creating chaos as the army struggled to regain control.

Responding to the inquiry on Thursday, Israel’s armed forces chief said he took full responsibility for failing to prevent the Hamas attack.

“The responsibility is mine. I was the commander of the army on October 7, and I also bear the full responsibility for all of you,” Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, who announced his resignation last month, said in a video statement.

In addition to Halevi, the head of the army’s southern command Major General Yaron Finkelman, announced his resignation.

Military intelligence chief Major General Aharon Haliva stepped down in August.

Headline

Most Followed Tiktoker Khaby Lame Deported From US Over Visa Violation

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Italian-Senegalese social media sensation, Khaby Lame, known as the world’s most followed TikTok creator, has been deported from the United States after allegedly overstaying his visa, The New York Times reported.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Lame, 25, was detained last Friday at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

The agency confirmed the detention in an official statement, stating that Lame entered the country on April 30 but “overstayed the terms of his visa.”

Lame, who rose to international fame for his silent comedic reactions to overcomplicated “life hack” videos, has amassed over 160 million followers on TikTok.

His online popularity led to collaborations with global fashion brands, a role in a Hollywood film, and a reality show on Tubi titled Khaby Is Coming To America.

His deportation has sparked a storm of reactions online.

“Every single illegal alien needs to be DEPORTED. When I found out the biggest TikTok star, Khaby Lame, is an illegal alien evading taxes, I worked with Trump’s ICE to have him removed. He’s since been detained by ICE and removed,” Bo Loudon, a Gen Z Trump supporter and self-styled activist, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Following his deportation, Lame has not issued any formal statement. However, on Monday, he posted an Instagram story tagged in São Paulo, Brazil, marking his first confirmed location since leaving the US

Lame’s former legal representative, Riccardo Lanzo, told The New York Times that the influencer had spent significant time in the US recently but acknowledged uncertainty regarding his visa status.

The case came amid a broader immigration enforcement push under Trump’s renewed administration.
APF

Headline

Trump Unveils Website For $5m US Residency Visa

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

President Donald Trump touted a new website for his planned $5 million US residency permit on Wednesday, saying the waiting list for the golden visa has opened on TrumpCard.gov.

“Thousands have been calling and asking how they can sign up to ride a beautiful road in gaining access to the Greatest Country and Market anywhere in the World,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

Trump unveiled the first such visa aboard Air Force One in April, holding a golden prototype that bore his face and promising the special permit would probably be available “in less than two weeks.”

The visas are not available yet, but the website announced Wednesday allows interested parties to submit their name, desired visa and email address under a header that says “The Trump Card is Coming.”

Trump previously said the new visa, a high-price version of the traditional green card, would bring in job creators and could be used to reduce the US national deficit.

The announcement comes as deportation raids are being ramped up across the country, prompting protests, and as Trump’s administration faces ongoing lawsuits and accusations of rights violations over its anti-immigration blitz.

Trump has said the new card would be a route to highly prized US citizenship. He said in February that his administration hoped to sell “maybe a million” of the cards and did not rule out that Russian oligarchs may be eligible.

AFP

Headline

19-year-old Nigerian Artiste Beaten To Death In Ghana

Published

3 days ago

June 11, 2025

Editor

A 19-year-old upcoming Nigerian artiste identified simply as Destiny has been beaten to death in the Volta Region area of Ghana.

According to The PUNCH, the incident happened on May 28.

It was gathered that a yet-to-be-identified Nigerian based in Ghana accused him of failing to remit funds related to a business venture they introduced him to.

The male adult, who was also said to be among those who facilitated his trip to the country, stormed his apartment alongside two others to question him about the funds.

However, Destiny’s failure to provide answers led to a severe assault meted out to him.

A source privy to the incident told The PUNCH on Tuesday on the condition of anonymity because he lacked the authority to speak with the media that the Edo State-born artiste thereafter succumbed to the injuries sustained from the assault.

“Destiny went to Ghana to further his education, and the travel was facilitated by someone he called his street brother. These are the same people who provided an apartment for him over there. Those who broke the news to us from there said the men introduced him to a business, which they later accused him of diverting some funds meant for the business. This angered them, and they went to his apartment and beat him up. The beating was so intense that he felt weak and gave up the ghost in the process,” the source narrated.

It was further learnt that the suspects left the deceased’s body in the room after they discovered that he was motionless.

Another source who spoke to newsmen said the police later discovered the corpse a few days after the incident.

“The police were alerted to the incident, and some officers were deployed to the apartment where Destiny’s remains were found. We were told that no suspects had been arrested since his death. We hope the Ghanaian authorities find his killers and bring them to justice.”

In a video obtained by The PUNCH, Destiny was seen speaking about himself and what his plans were.

He said, “I am Destiny and I am a streamer from Nigeria. I want to apply to Streamers University, and this will be a great joy for me, my mother, and everybody. I am also an artiste and a gamer. I do all sorts of things.”

Recall that in April a 77-year-old Nigerian Uber driver, Olatunji Bolaji, was killed in a shooting outside a hookah lounge in Philadelphia, United States.

Bolaji, who lived in Norristown, Pennsylvania, was on duty around 2 a.m. on Wednesday when he picked up a passenger, a 22-year-old man, outside the Byblos Hookah Bar near Rittenhouse Square in Centre City, CBS reports on Friday.

Police said shortly after Bolaji picked up the young man, another vehicle pulled up behind his SUV, and two men got out.

One of them opened fire, shooting both Bolaji and the passenger.