Israel orders evacuations in northern Gaza as Trump calls for war to end

By Nidal Al-Mughrabi Reuters  The Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate areas in northern Gaza on Sunday before intensified fighting against  Hamas , as U.S. President Donald Trump called for an end to the  war  amid renewed efforts to broker a ceasefire. “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,”  Trump  posted on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to hold talks later in the day on the progress of Israel’s offensive. A senior security official said the military will tell him the campaign is close to reaching its objectives, and warn that expanding fighting to new areas in Gaza may endanger the remaining Israeli hostages. But in a statement posted on X and text messages sent to many residents, the military urged people in northern parts of the enclave to head south towards the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, which Israel designated as a humanitarian area. Palestinian and U.N. offi...

Islamist militants kill at least 20 Nigerian troops

By Ahmed Kingimi Reuters

Suspected Islamist fighters killed at least 20 Nigerian soldiers, including a commanding officer, after attacking an army base in a remote town in northeastern Borno state, security sources and residents said on Sunday.

Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters have mainly operated in Borno, targeting security forces and civilians, in the process killing and displacing tens of thousands of people.

The latest assault happened on Friday, when ISWAP members arrived on gun trucks and attacked the army’s 149 Battalion in Malam-Fatori town, gateway to the border with Niger, two soldiers and residents said.

One of the soldiers who survived the attack told Reuters by phone that troops were taken by surprise as the militants “rained bullets everywhere”.

“We tried so much to repel the attacks and after more than three hours of gun duel, they overpowered us, killing our commanding officer, a lieutenant colonel,” the soldier said, declining to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

He said 20 soldiers died while several were injured.

A Nigerian Army spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Residents who left the town said some of the militants were seen in Malam-Fatori as late as Saturday night.

Malakaka Bukar, a member of the local militia recruited to help the army, said the militants also burned buildings, forcing some residents to flee the town.

“They preached to some of the residents,” said Bukar.

Although weakened by military assaults and internal fighting over the years, Boko Haram and ISWAP have stepped up attacks in Borno since the turn of the year, killing dozens of farmers and fishermen in series of raids.



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/tfRZW4S

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