Thousands have died in the ensuing war that erupted as Israel responded with its massive bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Israel is relentlessly pounding Hamas targets in Gaza, five days after the Islamist fighters shot dead civilians in their homes and on the streets in an unprecedented assault on Israeli soil. Thousands have died in the ensuing war that erupted as Israel responded with its massive bombardment of the Palestinian enclave. Israel has since said it has secured border areas along Gaza that had been taken by Hamas militants in Saturday’s assault, and has massed its military forces around the besieged Palestinian enclave in what appears to be preparation for a possible ground invasion. This is what we know about the conflict so far: How the assault unfolded Hundreds of Hamas militants attacked Israel from around 6:30 am (0330 GMT) on Saturday, the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, in an assault that came 50 years and a day after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.   The Iran-backed Islamists fired thousands of rockets from Gaza into Israel and used explosives and bulldozers to break through the security fence around the blockaded Palestinian enclave.   Using motorbikes, pickup trucks, motorised gliders and speed boats, the militants streamed into Israel, targeting cities including Ashkelon, Ofakim and Sderot. The gunmen fired on hundreds of young Israelis and foreigners at a music festival near Kibbutz Reim, close to Gaza. Some 270 people died at the site alone. Hamas also took around 150 hostages, Israel said. They include at least 11 Thais, two Mexicans and an unknown number of Americans and Germans. How Israel is responding Israel declared war on Hamas on Sunday and has since carried out thousands of air strikes inside the densely populated territory of 2.3 million people. The bombing campaign has flattened more than 1,000 homes, while 560 more have been so severely damaged they are uninhabitable, UN humanitarian agency OCHA said, citing Palestinian authorities. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, meaning “no electricity, no food, no water, no gas”, in a move decried by the United Nations as a possible violation of international law.   The military has massed tens of thousands of troops and heavy armour near Gaza, and called up 300,000 reservists for a campaign it has dubbed “Swords of Iron”.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that his country’s military campaign was only the start of a sustained war, and has vowed to reduce to “rubble” Hamas’s hideouts in Gaza. By Tuesday evening, the United Nations said that the air strikes had forced more than 260,000 people to flee their homes in the impoverished territory hemmed in by an Israeli-Egyptian blockade for more than 15 years. Three Israeli strikes have also hit the Rafah crossing with Egypt, the only entry point into Gaza not controlled by Israel. The Israeli military meanwhile said Tuesday that it had largely reclaimed the embattled south and the border around Gaza, and dislodged holdout Hamas fighters from more than a dozen towns and kibbutzim.   But late Tuesday in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, troops backed by helicopters and drones exchanged fire with several militants, leaving three fighters dead, the army said. And a rocket from Gaza struck a hospital in Ashkelon on Wednesday. Israel also faced the threat of a multi-front war after days of back and forth shelling with the Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah on the northern border with Lebanon. There was also an exchange of fire between Israel and forces in Syria on Tuesday, after Israel’s military said munitions were fired towards the Golan Heights it has occupied since 1967. Death toll mounts In total, the war has claimed more than 3,900 lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, soldiers and combatants. Israel says Hamas gunmen have killed more than 1,200 people and wounded over 2,700 in Israeli cities, towns and kibbutz communities. In the kibbutz of Beeri alone, Hamas gunmen killed more than 100 people, a volunteer who helped recover the bodies told AFP.   The Israeli military said 169 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting and the bodies of 1,500 Islamist militants have been found in recaptured areas. Eighteen Thais, 14 US citizens and 10 Nepalis are among foreigners from more than a dozen countries killed. In Gaza, health officials said 1,055 people had been killed and more than 5,000 wounded. Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, on Monday said Israeli air strikes on Gaza had killed “four of the enemy’s prisoners”, in a claim that could not be independently verified. Eight Palestinian journalists have been killed in Israeli air strikes, according to media unions and officials. Unrest has also broken out in the occupied West Bank, where 15 Palestinians have died since Saturday. What Hamas says about the attack Hamas said it fired 5,000 rockets in an offensive it branded “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood”. On Monday it threatened to start killing hostages every time Israel launches a strike on a civilian target without warning. It has ruled out negotiating a prisoner swap with Israel as “the military operation is still ongoing”. Its chief Ismail Haniyeh vowed Saturday to press ahead with “the battle to liberate our land and our prisoners languishing in occupation prisons”. Hamas has called on “resistance fighters in the West Bank” as well as in “Arab and Islamic nations” to join the battle. How the world has reacted The United States has vowed “rock solid and unwavering” support for Israel, with President Joe Biden condemning the attacks by Hamas as “sheer evil” and so far showing no sign of calling for restraint by its key ally. Biden said Washington was “surging assistance” for Israel, including missiles for its Iron Dome interceptor system, while the largest US aircraft carrier has been ordered to move closer to Israel. Biden said he was ready to move “additional assets” if needed to deter Israel’s adversaries. Washington is also deploying hostage experts to Israel to

  The minister of works, Dave Umahi has directed contractors handling road projects for the ministry to report to the site within 14 days. He said failure to comply with the directive would lead to the termination of such a contract. Umahi also disclosed that any contractor with four projects will not be issued additional project(s) until the ongoing projects are completed and delivered.

  The Registrar and Chief Executive, National Examination Council, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, has said that state governments are owing the exam body N5.5 billion. He, however, declined to name the states in the N5.5 billion debt, saying that some of them have made commitments with NECO to pay their indebtedness. Wushishi made this known on Tuesday, during the release of the 2023 Senior School Certificate Examination results which he announced that 61 per cent of the candidates scored five credits including English and Mathematics. According to the registrar, the debt was incurred between 2012 and 2023 as a result of the states taking responsibility for the registration of their indigent indigines due for the examination. It is the money we use for the running of the council. They should please pay up. We will not release the results of candidates from these states,” he said. Wushishi noted that the poor performance of some states is a call on the states to “look inwards to review their education sector and look also at all sectors of the education.” He said Abia State and the Federal Capital Territory topped the 36 states on the performance chart followed by Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, and Adamawa States. 1,296,985 candidates sat for the 2023 SSCE examination. The male candidates were 616,398 while female candidates were 580,587, NECO reported.

  The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) says it has sent a bill for the regulation of social media to the national assembly. The regulator is seeking to repeal and reenact the NBC act, CAP L11 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004. Speaking when he hosted Mohammed Idris, minister of information and national orientation, at the commission’s headquarters on Tuesday, Balarabe Ilelah, NBC director-general, described the ills of social media as a “monster”. Ilelah said the current law does not give the NBC the right to regulate social media. “We want to tell you that a bill for an act to repeal and amend the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) act, CAP L11 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004, to accommodate the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting service, also to promote quality audio and video, efficient management of the spectrum, Nigeria Broadcast Institute, social media regulation and related matters has been read for the first time on the floor of the national assembly,” the DG said. “All these that are mentioned are not captured in the present act of the commission. We have already submitted a bill to amend the act. “One of our major problems now is social media. Unless there is a law that allows NBC to act on social media issues, the issue will continue to be a monster in our daily lives in this country.” Ilelah said the commission has the right to punish any broadcaster in line with the act establishing NBC. “We have powers, we derive our powers from the act, and we have the powers to sanction stations. We don’t want to sanction, we prefer to bring them together for negotiation, for understanding,” he said. “We only apply sanctions when there is no way out of it. We don’t want the stations or the stakeholders to see NBC as an enemy. If you mention NBC anywhere, the first impression is sanctions. “In 2023, a total of 1,238 warnings were given, while during the same year, six different stations were penalised.” On his part, the information minister said the NBC should work with the media so they do not see the commission as “punitive”. Thereafter, the minister took a tour of the facilities of the commission.

  Christopher Musa, the chief of defence staff (CDS), has asked troops of the Nigerian army not to wait for Boko Haram terrorists to attack first before taking the fight to them. Musa spoke to troops of Operation Hadin Kai at the Maimalari cantonment, Maiduguri, the Borno state capital, on Tuesday. The CDS urged the troops to take the battle to the insurgents, adding that a soldier who comes to the theatre is not complete without killing at least one Boko Haram fighter. “Don’t just come and sleep in the theatre, make sure you look for Boko Haram and kill,” he said. Anybody who comes to the theatre and finishes without killing one Boko Haram is not complete. “So you must make sure before you go, look for them, that’s the only way we can finish them completely. “They should not be looking for us, we should be looking for them. “Do not go and sit down until they attack and we repel, there is nothing like repel, go and find and kill them.” Speaking further, Musa said President Bola Tinubu recognises the sacrifices and commitment of the troops in the fight against insurgency. “The president said he is happy with us and wishes us all the very best,” he added. “He also reminds us that it is not yet over but that we are moving on the right track. “If we continue the way we are going, very soon Boko Haram will come to an end.”

  The Principal of a Junior Secondary School in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has cried out over lack of potable water, desks and other amenities. This comes amidst recent surge of students’ enrollment in public primary and secondary schools in the nation’s capital sequel to hike in school fees across private schools. City & Crime had earlier reported how numbers of enrollees in public schools across the country increased geometrically due to the fuel subsidy removal which increased burdens of many parents. Speaking to journalists on the sideline of “Reach a Child Campaign: For Every Child Deserves Care” programme on Wednesday, the Principal of JSS, Mpape, Abuja, Mrs Ngozi Onugwu, called on the government and other critical stakeholders to act. The programme was organised by HEARD Africa, a Non-Governmental Organisation in partnership with the office of the lawmaker representing AMAC/Bwari in the 10th House of Representatives, Joshua Obika. Mrs Onugwu explained that over 1,000 JSS 1 students had been posted to her school and there is no desks and chairs as well as water on ground to accommodate the new students, saying they would be happy if at 400 desks could be provided. She said, “We are facing a lot of challenges. For example, we don’t have a single desk for the incoming JSS 1 students. We need at least, 400 desks because they have posted over 1,000 students to us in this school and there is no single desk for them. “More of the classes are dilapidated. The teaching staff are not enough. The PTA in this school had to employ 20 teachers in this school just to augment. The FCT UBEB secretariat, they are trying their best but it is not enough. We need serious intervention in this school. “Just look at our compound, see the way we’re dressed, we dress specially in this school because we don’t dress how we want, we dress according to our environment. It is not good for us and the students. The potholes in some of the classes make it like we’re learning outside. “Concerning recruitments of more teachers, not me alone but all the principals in UBEB. We went for a management meeting last meeting and we tabled it to the management at the meeting that we are suffering in the schools. The meagre money we collect from the PTA, we only use it to pay the PTA teachers. To carry out other projects in the school is a problem because of lack of funds. We have tabled it, we have written and they promised that some of our PTA teachers would be engaged permanently. “My message is that, they should come to our aid. We need desks. As I am speaking to you, we don’t have water in this school. When there is no water, how do we improve personal hygiene of the students? We have even taken it upon ourselves, the PTA, to drill a borehole but we’re waiting for the fund because the fund is not there

  Many people are experiencing homelessness as housing prices and rents have increased in Canada’s real estate markets. Reports said tens of thousands have started living on the streets of Canada, which remains a top destination for immigrants and refugees.   According to a new study in September, one in two homeless people in Quebec can be located in rural areas of the eastern province rather than primarily in Montreal, as was previously the case. India Times reported that in a Quebec government assessment, nearly one in every four homeless people ended up on the street after being evicted from housing. The number of homeless people in Quebec rose by 44 per cent between 2018 and 2022, reaching 10,000 last year. It said indigenous people, who make up 5% of the Canadian population, are overrepresented in the streets, particularly Inuit, according to a director of a local anti-poverty organisation, Karine Lussier. “In Granby alone, we need at least 1,000 affordable housing units,” Lussier said. The report revealed that some people have been living in a temporary camp in a cemetery in Granby, a town of 70,000 people 80 kilometres (50 miles) east of Montreal. One of the affected persons, Danny Brodeur-Cote has been living in a temporary camp in a cemetery in Granby, for months after being evicted from an apartment he shared with his girlfriend in June. “I work five days a week,” he said. “What little housing there is is much too expensive,” he stated.   Mayor of Granby, Julie Bourdon said, “Visible homelessness did not exist three years ago in Granby, [but] rents are very high now compared to two years ago.” Rather than destroying the camps and transferring the residents, the city chose to keep what it called “places of tolerance.” According to France Belisle, Mayor of Gatineau, a city of over 300,000 people across a river from Ottawa, the issue could simply be the tip of the iceberg because these are “the figures compiled a year ago.” While the costs of living soar in Canada, the government data said there are around 235,000 homeless people in Canada, but this only includes people who use shelters. This was revealed by the University of Western Ontario professor Cheryl Forchuk, who, like Belisle, believes the true picture is significantly worse. “We are largely underestimating the number… we could probably triple the current federal estimates,” she stated. “We now find ourselves in a situation where even well-off people have difficulty with housing,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted in September. Despite the housing and rent challenges confronting Canadians, the North American country is still receiving immigrants from across the globe including Nigerians. Recently, the Canadian federal government announced an aggressive plan to take in 500,000 immigrants a year by 2025, with almost 1.5 million new immigrants coming to the country over the next three years. In 2022, the country landed 437,120 permanent residents, a nearly eight percent increase from the total number of PRs in 2021. “The immigration levels plan will help businesses find the workers they need,” Sean Fraser, Canada’s immigration minister said in a statement.

  A Customary Court sitting in Akure, Ondo state, has dissolved a 23-year marriage between a Lagos-based church founder, Prophet Obayan and wife, Prophetess Chibuzor Obayan, and resolved the paternity of their four children. The estranged wife, Chibuzor, had changed the names of the children to that of her new lover, who was a former member of the husband’s church. Prophet Obayan founder of Divine Prophetic Solutions Prayers Ministry located at off Arowojobe Street, Ladipo, Lagos, had dragged his estranged wife to the court in Akure, to challenge the “snatching of his four children by a member of his church”, and sought the return of the paternity of the children Obayan had filed a divorce suit against his wife on the grounds that she changed his children’s surname to her lover’s name and the dissolution of his 23-year marriage. The petitioner told the court that he is a Yoruba man. At the same time, his wife is Ibo from Abia State alleged her of disobedience, misunderstanding, lies, manipulation, abuse, hate and rage. Obayan, prayed the court to grant him the custody of his four children whom his wife had changed their surname to Obi. During the hearing, the petitioner called three witnesses, including himself, while the respondent and five others testified for the defence. The respondent’s lawyer, T.B. Odudu, while addressing the court submitted that all the six witnesses she called corroborated their testimonies that there was no marriage between the petitioner and the respondent. Odudu said that the plaintiff lacked the five elements of customary marriage in Ibo land, which include; a treaty, concept of parental agreement, handing over of bride and payment of bride price, not in the relationship. On his part, the petitioner’s counsel, Bosun Otitoju, told the court that his witnesses had testified that there was indeed a marriage ceremony between Obayan and his wife. Otitoju cited the case of Agbeja (1985) 3 NWLR (Pt.11) 19, which held, “In proof of customary marriage, the evidence of the Head of the family is desirable to prove an eyewitness account of the transaction is essential.” However, in his judgement, Magistrate Segun Stephen Rotiba, dissolved the marriage on the grounds that the parties have lost interest in the union. Magistrate Rotiba said that with regard to relief two in the petition, the Court had already given a well-considered ruling that the children whose custody was sought have already attained adulthood. According to him “As regards reliefs three and four, which are ‘inpari material and mutatis mutandis,’ the ruling of the Court dated April 26, 2023, has made a reservation to look into the propriety of the said action in the substantive suit.” The Court noted that from the evidence before it, the Respondent alluded to the fact under cross-examination that since the Petitioner did not pay her bride price, her new husband who paid same has the right to have them bear his name in accordance with Ibo custom. It held further, “In the same breathe, I find the Ibo custom exuded by the respondent and her witnesses that the children of the union can bear Mr Abua Obi as their surname, atavistic, barbaric, evil, ungodly, irrational, unsensational, crass, gross, crude, unwary, provocative, ungodly, discriminatory and insensible. “The custom that tends to punish one person when two consenting adults are involved in the act is nothing but the highest element of insensitivity and servitude. “I condemn this custom in the strongest terms. While the matter was on, a publication was made on February 2, 2023 in Vanguard newspapers, changing the surname of the first two children of the parties to Abua Obi. “Aside the fact that complicit to change the surname of the first two children has been established against the Respondent, it also amounts to subjudice as no action is expected to be taken on the subject matter by whoever, when the matter is pending before the Court. “This is a complete affront to the Court. I say no more. In conclusion, the Court hereby dissolves the union between the parties, having broken down irretrievably. “The court, hereby declares personal non grata, the custom of the Respondent awarding paternal personality to a man who is not the children’s biological father. “The court hereby invalidates and renders null and void the publication changing the surname of the 1st and 2nd children from Obayan to Abua Obi. Rotiba added that ” the court also invalidates any other publication or whatsoever changing the surname of the Children from Obayan to Abua Obi during the pendency of this case.”

  Member representing Isa-Sabon Birni federal constituency of Sokoto State, Abdulkadir Jelani Danbuga, is dead. He was a first-time member of the House elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He reportedly died around 12:30 am on Wednesday after a brief illness. He reportedly took ill on Tuesday and was admitted in an undisosed hospital for treatment The Nation learnt that the corpse of the lawmaker has been taken to Sokoto for burial, according to Islamic rites. Spokesman of the House, Hon. Akin Rotimi, who confirmed the incident, said the death was announced on the lawmakers’ platform this morning. He said a statement on the incident was forthcoming.   Details Shortly