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Trump’s envoy arrives in Israel as Gaza criticism mounts
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Israel on Thursday to discuss ways to end the crisis in Gaza, where nearly 22 months of grinding war and dire shortages of food have drawn mounting international criticism.
Gaza’s civil defence agency reported dozens of Palestinians killed late Wednesday when Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd attempting to block an aid convoy — the latest in a spate of near-daily incidents of desperate aid seekers being shot.
The Israeli military confirmed having fired “warning shots” as Gazans gathered around aid trucks, but said it had no knowledge of casualties in the incident. An AFP correspondent saw the bullet-riddled corpses of Palestinians in Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital.
Jameel Ashour, who lost a relative in the shooting, told AFP at the overflowing morgue that Israel troops had opened fire after a crowd surged towards the convoy.
“When people saw thieves stealing and dropping food, the hungry crowd rushed in hopes of getting some,” he said.
With indirect ceasefire and hostage release negotiations between Hamas and Israel at an impasse, Witkoff will meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss humanitarian aid and the “next steps” on Gaza.
He may also visit a US-backed humanitarian group distributing food in Gaza, according to Israeli reports.
Witkoff has been the top US representative in indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas, but the discussions broke down last week when Israel and the United States recalled their delegations from Doha.
Israel is under mounting international pressure to agree a ceasefire and allow the world to flood a hungry Gaza with food, with Canada the latest Western country to announce plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
– MAGA doubts –
Trump has been Israel’s staunchest international defender at a time when concerns about the campaign in Gaza have left Netanyahu increasingly isolated on the world stage, but the two leaders have occasionally found themselves at odds of late.
Earlier this week Trump promised to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning that the territory faces “real starvation” — directly contradicting Netanyahu’s insistence that reports of hunger were exaggerated.
UN-backed experts, meanwhile, have reported “famine is now unfolding” in Gaza, with news images of sick and emaciated children drawing outrage and powers like France, the UK and now Canada lining up to support Palestinian statehood.
Trump is now reportedly concerned that his most fervent domestic US supporters, the so-called “MAGA base”, are turning against Israel.
Israel is also under pressure to resolve the crisis from other traditional supporters.
Germany’s top diplomat Johann Wadephul was expected in Jerusalem on Thursday for talks with Netanyahu and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
– ‘Warning shots’ –
In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that the worsening suffering of civilians in Gaza left “no room for delay in coordinated international action to support peace”.
Israel blasted Canada’s announcement as part of a “distorted campaign of international pressure”, while Trump warned that trade negotiations with Ottawa could be hurt by what Washington regards as a premature bid to back Palestine.
The fighting in Gaza has lasted for almost 22 months, triggered by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which left 1,219 people dead, according to a tally based on official figures.
Of the 251 Israelis kidnapped that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, 27 of them declared dead by the Israeli military.
The Israeli campaign has since killed 60,249 Palestinians, according to a tally from the Hamas government’s health ministry, and this week UN aid agencies warned that deaths from starvation had begun.
In the incident Wednesday night, Gaza’s civil defence agency said gunfire killed at least 58 people in a crowd gathered around a humanitarian aid convoy in the north of the territory.
According to an AFP correspondent and witnesses, the trucks had entered Gaza through the Israeli military checkpoint at Zikim, on their way to World Central Kitchen and the World Food Programme warehouses in Gaza City.
Thousands of people rushed to stop the trucks before they continued to the warehouses, and shooting erupted.
Separately, the Hamas-led Gaza government’s health ministry issued a statement Thursday begging Palestinians not to loot a new aid convoy, warning that it contained no food but instead medical supplies for the territory’s hard-pressed hospitals.
Another 32 people were reported killed by the civil defence on Thursday in Israeli attacks across Gaza.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties accessing many areas mean AFP cannot independently verify tolls and details provided by the civil defence and other parties.
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A popular Ghanaian on-air personality and media strategist with Starr, SOG Precious, has said the recent Nigeria Must Go protest in Ghana was a retaliation for the Ghana Must Go protest in 1983.
Precious made this known in an interview on Channels TV’s Morning Brief on Friday.
His statement comes as a viral video on Tuesday showed a large number of Ghanaians protesting with placards suggesting the deportation of Nigerians.
Reacting to the protest, Precious said, “It is a form of retaliation for what happened in 1988.”
He further claimed data in Ghana suggests that some Nigerians, especially young girls, are prominent in prostitution and other outlawed activities in the country.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has appealed for calm over the matter, noting that there is “no cause for alarm.”
Earlier, the Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador Demola, said the protest is not against all Nigerians but against some persons with undesirable activities in Ghana.
“I think the focus is on the tertiary traders and people whom I would describe as probably undesirable to their system, to their economy,” he said in an interview on Arise News.
Recall that in 1983, there was a mass deportation of Ghanaians from Nigeria under former President Shehu Shagari.
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The Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has released prophecies regarding the elections in some countries, including Cameroon, Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, and Tanzania.
In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, he revealed some events that will unfold before, during, and after the election.
In Cote D’ivoire, the prophet stated that the president will do everything within his power to return as the president.
He stated that the opposition will eventually shy away from contesting.
Primate Ayodele said: “The President of Côte d’Ivoire, Ouattara, will do everything legally and constitutionally possible to be elected. Those who can defeat him will be delisted, and in the end, some will get angry and fail to contest.
“This is where the opposition will fail and not get it right. This is where the opposition will be misinformed and give the man another chance. The opposition will only protest; the president is ready for anything. He is a stooge for France, and they will back him up. A lot of things will go wrong in the election; there will be violence, and people will be praying for a coup.”
In Uganda, Primate Ayodele stated that it is only God who can remove Museveni and his family from power because he has positioned himself to be in power for life.
“Uganda: Museveni will hold Bobi Wine to ransom. He will contest again but won’t win. Museveni will still win no matter what; he will do all that is needed to win the election. Uganda wants to run a one-party system, and only God can remove the family of Museveni from power because he has positioned himself to be a life president,” he said.
In Cameroon, Primate Ayodele stated that the opposition will shun the election and give Paul Biya a landslide victory. However, he made it known that the president would not complete his tenure.
“Cameroon: What is happening in Côte d’Ivoire will happen in Cameroon. The opposition will want to shun the election and give Paul Biya power to win a landslide victory. Biya will go all out to win, but he will not finish his tenure.
“He will be another president to die on the throne. Notwithstanding, these old presidents—if they continue to rule—some of them will start dying. Biya has mortgaged Cameroon, and the Anglophone areas will continue to suffer until they pull out.”
In Malawi, Primate Ayodele foresees massive protest against the government, while stating that the current vice president will pull out at some point to contest for the position of a president. He also foresees a new vice president coming up.
“Malawi: There is going to be a protest against the Malawian government. There will be a lot of crises and problems in the country. The country will be unstable and fluctuating. They will rise against the president; he needs a lot of prayers for good health.
“There is a need for the country to be stable economically and politically. They need a lot of prayers to succeed and actualize their vision. The current vice president will pull out from the government to contest for the position of president, as I see another vice president coming up. However, the incoming vice president will have issues with the president.”
Likewise, in Tanzania, Primate Ayodele foresees clashes between the opposition and the current president. He also warned against the Ebola crisis in the country.
“Tanzania: The opposition will do a lot to fight the Tanzanian president. The woman will go all out to fight the opposition, and I see her frustrating the opposition. She is desperate to win the election and believes she’s being cheated because of her gender.
“She will deal with the opposition regardless of who they may be or what they want to achieve. I see disaster and Ebola recurring in the country. There will be mass protests against the president.”
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The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives, Federal Medical Centre, Owo chapter, has declared that it will not attend to any patient during its ongoing seven-day warning strike, regardless of the severity of cases.
Mr. Coker Oluwasegun, secretary of the association, made this known on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, accusing the Federal Government of neglecting the welfare of nurses.
“It is total compliance—no leeway whatsoever,” he said. “The Federal Government has unfairly treated nurses over the years, and this is the time for us to take the bull by the horns.
“This action is not against the management of FMC Owo, as we have already informed the Medical Director and his team.”
Oluwasegun lamented poor remuneration and working conditions, noting that the uniform allowance has remained N20,000 per year for over two decades.
“In all other allowances, nurses receive the least, despite being the backbone of the health sector. There’s a lack of equipment in most hospitals, making patients wrongly assume we are responsible for poor outcomes. The working conditions are deplorable,” he added.
He cited a string of unfulfilled promises by the Federal Government and reiterated that the warning strike would last seven days.
“If our 12-point demands are not met, we will resume after the warning strike and issue a 21-day ultimatum, after which an indefinite strike will commence,” Oluwasegun stated
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