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Israeli Forces Resume Gaza Ground Assault, Seize Part Of Netzarim Corridor

Israeli army says forces retake part of key land corridor to expand a ‘security zone and create a partial buffer’. Israeli troops have resumed ground operations in the besieged Gaza Strip, reclaiming control of a key land corridor while continuing a wide-ranging bombardment of the besieged enclave as a truce with Hamas collapsed. The Israeli army said its forces retook control of the centre of the Netzarim Corridor on Wednesday to expand a “security zone and create a partial buffer between the north and south of the Strip”. Last month, Israeli troops withdrew from the corridor, which bisects Gaza, allowing civilians in central and southern Gaza to return to what remained of their homes in the north after more than a year of war. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Gaza City, said the reoccupation of Netzarim will prevent the free movement of Palestinians inside the enclave. “The Israeli military presence in the area is equivalent to a ground invasion. That’s made clear by the [Israeli military] statement. It’s going to be a part of a starting point, or a launching point, for the occupying forces to implement military operations in the area,” Mahmoud said. The ground manoeuvre comes after Israel resumed bombing Gaza, killing more than 400 people on Tuesday after accusing Hamas of refusing a new version of the ceasefire under which many of the 59 remaining captives being held in Gaza – the majority of whom are believed to be dead – would be released without Israel having to agree to end the war. To put pressure on Hamas to accept the new deal, Israel earlier this month blocked all aid deliveries into the Strip and cut electricity to the enclave. Hamas insisted Israel should stick to the original ceasefire, signed in January, according to which the two sides were to negotiate the handover of the remaining captives, a permanent cessation of hostilities and the pullout of Israeli troops from Gaza. “Why do we have to present proposals while there exists a signed agreement with international parties acting as guarantors?” Taher al-Nono, media adviser for the head of the Hamas political bureau, told Al Jazeera. “There is also a [United Nations] Security Council resolution. We have positively responded to all the efforts made towards us. It was [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu that has backed down on the agreement. It was Netanyahu who turned a blind eye to it. Therefore, it is Netanyahu, not Hamas or the resistance, that should be pressured to comply.” On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to escalate the offensive if all the captives held in Gaza were not freed and Hamas was not eliminated from Gaza. “Israel will act with an intensity that you have not seen,” he said. Gaza health authorities said dozens of people were killed on Wednesday in several Israeli air raids, including a foreign UN employee killed in an attack on a UN compound in central Gaza. Israel said it attacked Hamas targets in central Gaza. Medics said they are struggling to cope with the sharp increase of fatalities and wounded as hospitals lack medical supplies amid the renewed Israeli blockade. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Tinubus State Of Emergency In Rivers, Necessary Evil APC Chair

The All Progressives Congress on Thursday said that President Bola Tinubu’s state of emergency declaration in Rivers State has resolved 90 percent of the crisis in the state and helped prevent anarchy. The Chairman of the APC caretaker committee in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, stated at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja after a thank-you visit to the Abdullahi Ganduje-led National Working Committee. He described the declaration as “a necessary evil,” adding that the suspension of the state governor, Sim Fubara, was essential. Rivers State has experienced political instability for almost two years. Former Governor Nyesom Wike and his successor, Fubara, vying for control has led to a governance deadlock. In response, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state on March 18. He called for peace and suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state assembly for six months. Retired Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas was appointed as the new administrator by Tinubu. Okocha said, “I want to tell you that the State of Emergency declaration by Mr. President saved Rivers State from anarchy. Indeed, people like us could barely leave certain places where we were hiding, out of fear of the unknown. When you see non-state actors brandishing guns and making statements that suggest anarchy and lawlessness, you know that a problem is looming. “For the immediate, it was necessary. The decision of Mr President was a necessary evil. Whether the impeachment or suspension as it were today, I can tell you that 90 percent of the political crisis in Rivers was solved. It was very necessary. It is like when you have a hernia, and the only solution is an operation. The hernia is painful and the operation is painful, but without the operation, you won’t have any peace.” Okocha, who cleared the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of any wrongdoing, stated that the former Governor was not involved in the situation. “Was he in the fray? The answer is no. If bringing him to the fray is because he is the leader of that political structure, then you may be right. The 32 assembly members were produced and sponsored by the former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike. The election was one day, assembly and governorship. Are you not aware of what happened? The same group also threw up the governor of the state. So if you want to get him into the fray, that is the only reason you can, or you should. “The other point we make is that, and I have said that here before, Fubara was the weakest political investment. I have said that many times. What happens to you when you have invested? Should you allow the investment to fly away or to explode? And in Politics, I am talking about even in Economics, in politics, it is heavy, if not impossible, for someone to allow you to dismantle his political structure. They are all members of the same party. We have APC; they are members of a party called PDP. “For those who are calling for his suspension and all that, they are not getting the point right. That man had been at the epicenter of peace. How do we resolve this matter? But the governor became so hydra-headed that his head became bigger than his pillow. He had some people who told him, You have the red pen; you know all and do all; you can make or unmake with your red pen. “I am sure some of you saw him in the program where he brought the red pen out and said, ‘This is the red pen; it is still with me. This is what they are after. I still have it. I don’t know whether the red pen has dried up now, or maybe it will dry up before six months,” he said. Okocha expressed optimism that the lawsuit filed by the PDP Governors will clarify the facts surrounding Tinubu’s declaration and establish a new precedent. The APC Rivers State Caretaker Chairman stated, “What some people are now saying is that the suspension of the governor and assembly members is wrong. Thank God I hear the PDP Governors’ Forum is approaching the Supreme Court. I’m sure you know that there has been no legislation on this matter. Now that they have gone to the Supreme Court, whatever the outcome is will enrich the respondents. “I don’t want to single out individuals, but I hear the Nigerian Bar Association has come out to say it’s an affront to democracy and all that. When the assembly complex was destroyed and bombed, and the next day, 11 pieces of equipment were deployed, the NBA was aware, but we didn’t hear anything from them. “So one wonders why all this talk now. It’s good that they are going to court, and we should allow the Supreme Court to decide on the actions of Mr. President.”

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