Crime
PHOTOS: Israel says killed top Hamas weapons figure in Gaza
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on a car in Gaza City, on December 13, 2025. The US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas entered into force on October 10, nearly two years after the Gaza war erupted following Hamass October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)
Israel said it killed the head of weapons production in Hamas’s military wing in a strike in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.
The civil defence agency and medical sources in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory told AFP an Israeli strike killed five people in the Tel al-Hawa district, southwest of Gaza City.
When contacted by AFP earlier on Saturday, the army did not say whether the strike reported in Tel al-Hawa was the same as the one mentioned in an army statement before the announcement that it had killed Hamas’s Raad Saad.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a joint statement that “in response to the detonation of a Hamas explosive device that wounded our forces today in the Yellow Area of the Gaza Strip… (they) instructed the elimination of the terrorist Raad Saad”.
Under the US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israeli troops have withdrawn to positions behind the so-called Yellow Line, though they are still in control of more than half the territory.
Netanyahu and Katz described Saad as “one of the architects” of the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
The Israeli army said Saad was the head of the weapons production headquarters of Hamas’s military wing who led the group’s “force build-up”.
Family sources confirmed his death to AFP and said the funeral would be held on Sunday.
Israel’s military earlier on Saturday said two reserve soldiers were lightly injured “as a result of an explosive device that detonated during an operation to clear the area of terrorist infrastructure in southern Gaza”.
The ceasefire that came into effect on October 10 has halted the fighting between Israel and Hamas, but it remains fragile with each side accusing the other of violating its terms.
– Burnt-out car –
Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for Gaza civil defence which operates as a rescue force under Hamas authority, said five people were killed after “a civilian jeep-type vehicle was targeted near the Nabulsi roundabout in Tel al-Hawa”.
Bassal said the “charred” bodies were taken to Al-Shifa hospital after “Israeli warplanes targeted the civilian vehicle with three missiles, causing it to burn and its destruction”.
The hospital’s emergency department confirmed to AFP the arrival of the five bodies and said more than 25 people were injured in the strike.
AFP footage showed a mangled car with vehicle parts scattered around next to other debris.
“Warplanes fired several missiles at the vehicle, setting it ablaze. Residents rushed to extinguish the fire, and charred body parts were scattered on the ground,” a witness, who did not wish to give his name for security reasons, said in the Tal al-Hawa area.
Another witness, a 34-year-old man living in a tent in the Tel al-Hawa area, said he “saw several Hamas members arrive at the site of the attack”, without providing further details.
Civil defence agency spokesman Bassal also said a 17-year-old boy and an 18-year-old boy were killed by Israeli fire in two separate incidents in Gaza.
Source: VANGUARD
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Two Nigerian nationals have been sentenced to seven years in prison for armed robbery in Kuwait.
The Kuwait General Department of Criminal Investigation in Ahmadi Governorate arrested the two individuals over alleged involvement in an armed robbery and theft of a currency exchange shop in Mahboula, in January 2025.
The Court of Appeal on Monday, July 20, 2026 upheld the imprisonment of the defendants for seven years and six months in connection with the robbery and theft.
The Second Circuit of the Court of Appeal, headed by Counselor Nasr Salem Al-Haid and comprising Counselors Mutaib Al-Aradhi and Saud Al-Sane, upheld the ruling against members of a Nigerian gang involved in the robbery and theft of the money exchange shop.
The Public Prosecution had charged the first four defendants with stealing money from the exchange shop, with the second defendant using a fake gun and enabling the third and fourth defendants to steal the money with the assistance of the first defendant.
The fifth defendant was charged with participating with the defendants, agreeing to commit the crime, helping them conceal the stolen goods, and supplying them with the money obtained from the robbery and theft.
The Criminal Court had sentenced the first and fifth defendants in person, while the remaining defendants were sentenced in absentia.
The court had initially sentenced the first four defendants to seven years’ imprisonment and the fifth defendant to six months’ imprisonment after amending the description and charges.
The Court of Appeal later upheld the ruling, according to a report published by Al Rai newspaper.
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The Cross River State Police Command has arrested one Udeme Emmanuel Ekpeme, “m”aged 39, over allegations of impersonation, obtaining money by false pretence, and the unlawful use of medical equipment.
The suspect was arrested by Police officers attached to Uwanse Division ,Calabar South following a complaint lodged by Mrs. Edemawan Samuel, 45, who alleged that the suspect falsely presented himself as a medical doctor and fraudulently obtained the sum of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) from her under the false promise of securing employment for her children at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH).
Preliminary investigations indicate that the suspect allegedly used the false representation to deceive the complainant into parting with the money. Relevant exhibits believed to be connected to the case were recovered during the investigation, and the suspect is currently in police custody.
Confirming his arrest to newsmen, the spokesperson of the command, ASP Eitokpah Akata, said state Commissioner of Police, has directed that a thorough investigation be carried out to establish the full circumstances surrounding the case and determine whether there are other victims. Akata added that upon the conclusion of investigations, the suspect will be charged to court if sufficient evidence is established.
He mentioned that the command is actively conducting a discreet investigation into the matter to uncover the full extent of the suspect’s activities and identify any other possible victims or accomplices. Members of the public are assured that further updates will be provided as investigations progress.
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The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Badagry Area Command, has uncovered an alleged fake university operating from a three-bedroom apartment in Ilado, Olorunda Local Council Development Area, of Lagos State, and rescued 106 youths allegedly lured into the scheme. AkwaIbom News
The Corps also arrested the alleged proprietor of the institution, which reportedly recruited young people from different parts of Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries with promises of admission into a foreign university.
The operation, carried out in the early hours of Monday after days of intelligence gathering and covert surveillance, exposed what security officials described as an alleged fraudulent academic and recruitment scheme.
The youths, mostly aged between 19 and 24, were taken into protective custody by the NSCDC for profiling and further investigation.
Confirming their arrest to newsmen, the Badagry Area Commander of the NSCDC, Chief Superintendent Gbenga Ekunola, said the operation followed credible intelligence received by the command on activities at the apartment.
“We got reliable intelligence about the activities going on there. Our officers monitored the place for days before moving in. We have arrested the proprietor, who is assisting with our investigation, while the students have been taken into our protective custody.”
Preliminary investigations indicated that unsuspecting young people were allegedly persuaded to pay admission and processing fees after being promised admission into a foreign tertiary institution.
The victims reportedly paid between N200,000 and N1.5 million, while some foreign nationals and other participants allegedly paid between $400 and $500.
However, the alleged admission scheme reportedly came with a recruitment condition, with participants encouraged to bring in more people in return for commissions.
The arrangement allegedly operated like a chain marketing or Ponzi scheme, with participants promised increasing financial rewards based on the number of new students they recruited.
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