ISRAEL’S REPORTS

IDF: The IDF struck the area from which a rocket was launched toward Ashkelon; IDF troops continue to eliminate terrorists in the central Gaza Strip

On Thursday, a rocket that was launched toward the city of Ashkelon fell in an open area. Within several minutes, IDF artillery struck the area from which the launch was fired in Beit Lahia, and an IDF aircraft struck a weapons storage facility in the area.

IDF troops are continuing to operate in the central Gaza Strip and have eliminated a number of terrorists over the past day.

In one incident, two terrorists who were identified approaching the troops were eliminated in a strike from the air.

Over the past day, assisting the ground forces, IAF aircraft struck and destroyed approximately 25 targets, including military compounds, observation posts, launch posts, and other military infrastructure.

Attached are photos of IDF operational activity: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/anc1904202465514514615465461

Attached is a video of IDF strikes in the Gaza Strip: https://bit.ly/445qCoS

** IDF: COGAT continues the transfer of aid from the Ashdod Port, provides aid to the Jordanian Hospital, while 700 trucks have been cleared to enter Gaza and are awaiting UN agencies

This week, the IDF, via the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Unit (COGAT), is continuing daily efforts to facilitate the transfer of hundreds of trucks containing food supplies and humanitarian aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip. Accordingly, yesterday (Thursday) 276 trucks carrying humanitarian aid passed through the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana border crossings to the Gaza Strip after undergoing thorough security checks. In addition, 144 food packages were airdropped yesterday (Thursday) to distribution points in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the contents of more than 700 humanitarian aid trucks remain on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing after undergoing thorough security inspections, and are waiting to be collected and distributed by UN agencies to the civilians of the Gaza Strip.

In addition, as part of the enhancement of aid corridors to the north, 100 trucks were transferred from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip last night. Among them, 6 trucks entered through the Northern Cossing to the Gaza Strip after undergoing security inspections by security forces at the Kerem Shalom crossing and were accompanied by IDF soldiers.

in accordance with the government directive, on Thursday, nine additional trucks carrying flour from the World Food Program (WFP) were brought into the Gaza Strip from the Ashdod Port.

Furthermore, this past Wednesday, the IDF coordinated the entry of 17 trucks carrying humanitarian aid throught the Northern Gate as part of an aid convoy to the Jordanian Hospital to rotate hospital staff and deliver food supplies, water and medical equipment to support the ongoing operations of the hospital.

The IDF will continue its efforts to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip by land, air and sea in accordance with international law.

Attached are photos of the content of the humanitarian aid trucks on the Gaza side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, waiting to be collected and distributed by UN agencies:

https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/anc180420246584461556

** IDF: Earlier today, three launches were identified crossing from Lebanon into the area of Yiftach in northern Israel. No injuries or damages were reported. IDF artillery fired toward the sources of the launches.

A short while ago, IAF aircraft struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructures in the areas of Mansouri and Aitaroun in southern Lebanon.

Attached is a video of the strikes: https://bit.ly/49LwdCa

 

HAMAS’ REPORTS

Al-Quds Brigades - Tulkarm Brigade: Since yesterday evening, our mujahideen in Nour Shams camp have continued to clash with the occupation forces on several fronts.

#Al-Aqsa Flood

** Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - Hebron:

With God's help and strength, a group of fighters from the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades was able, at dawn today, to target a Zionist infantry force near the occupied Karmei Tzur settlement with small arms bullets, and the fighters withdrew safely, protected by the Most Merciful.

** Two occupation soldiers were injured during armed clashes with resistance fighters in Nour Shams camp in Tulkarm.

And what is hidden is greater

** Al-Quds Brigades:

We bombed the positions and concentrations of the Zionist enemy positioned east and southeast of Gaza City with (107) missile barrages.

#Al-Aqsa Flood

** Tulkarm Battalion in the Jerusalem Brigades:

We confront the enemy in the clashes in the Nour Shams camp, achieving direct casualties among its ranks

** Hamas resistance: Blinken claimed that we are the ones obstructing the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a confirmation of Washington’s blatant bias towards Zionist fascism. Reality confirms that the one who is disrupting the course of the negotiations for his personal political calculations is the terrorist Netanyahu

** The Mujahideen of the Al-Qassam Brigades targeted the occupation vehicles at the entrance to the Tulkarm camp with explosive devices and bullets.

Al-Qassam Brigades, Tulkarm camp

** Al-Quds Brigades: We bombed “Sderot,” “Niram,” and the Gaza Strip enclave with missile barrages in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our people.

#Al-Aqsa Flood

 

Israel Defense Forces/Hamas Brigade al-Qassam

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine downs Russian strategic bomber after airstrike kills eight, Kyiv says

Ukraine shot down a Russian strategic bomber on Friday after the warplane took part in a long-range airstrike that killed eight people including two children in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv said.

Missiles rained down on the city of Dnipro and the surrounding region in the early hours, damaging residential buildings and the main train station.

Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said three people died in Dnipro, including a man whose body was pulled from the rubble of a five-storey building, while five others were killed in nearby areas of Dnipropetrovsk region.

A 14-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy were among the dead, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

Russia has stepped up its long-range aerial assaults on Ukraine's energy system and other targets in recent weeks, ratcheting up the pressure on Kyiv behind the front lines where Russian forces have been slowly advancing in the east.

Russia denies targeting civilians and says the energy system is a legitimate target, but hundreds of civilians have been killed during airstrikes.

In a wartime first for Ukraine, Kyiv's top military spy said Ukrainian forces had shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber from a distance of just over 300 km (180 miles) after the plane fired missiles in the overnight attack.

"I can only say the plane was hit at a distance of 308 km, quite far away," Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), said in a BBC-Ukraine interview, parts of which were posted by the agency on the Telegram messaging app.

He said they downed the warplane in the same way Kyiv shot down Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft earlier this year.

An intelligence source told Reuters the plane had been hit using a modified S-200, a Soviet-era long-range surface-to-air missile system.

Unconfirmed social media footage showed a warplane with its tail on fire spiralling towards the ground.

The Russian defence ministry confirmed a bomber had crashed in Russia's southern Stavropol region, hundreds of kilometres from Ukrainian-controlled territory, as it returned to base after carrying out a combat mission.

But it said the crash appeared to have been caused by a technical malfunction.

Of the four Russian air force crew members ejected from the warplane, two were rescued, one died and a rescue operation was under way for the fourth, the Russian regional governor said.

ZELENSKIY SAYS DECISIONS NEEDED NOW

Civilians in a five-storey residential building hit in Dnipro said they were shaken up. The building's top floor was partially destroyed and firefighters battled to put out a fire early in the morning.

"My wife and daughter are in shock. They say they won't go back to the apartment and asked me to evacuate them somewhere because they won't be able to stay here anymore," said Serhii, a resident.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited the site of the strike and called on Ukraine's allies to rush in supplies of air defences as Ukraine's stocks dwindle due to a slowdown in vital Western military aid.

Ukraine's air force said it shot down 15 incoming missiles, including two Kh-22 cruise missiles and 14 drones overnight.

Air defences shot down 11 of 16 missiles and nine of 10 drones targeting the Dnipropetrovsk region, governor Lysak said.

Zelenskiy said more Russian missiles had struck the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi in the southern Odesa region on Friday afternoon, destroying grain storage facilities and foodstuffs they contained.

 

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

NATO ‘one step away’ from sending troops to Ukraine – Orban

The leaders of the EU and NATO are potentially ready to deploy forces to Ukraine, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed on Friday. Brussels sees the conflict between Moscow and Kiev as its “own” and is failing to consider the risks arising from its ever-deeper involvement, he warned.

The mood of EU leaders is “one of war,” Orban told a gathering of his Fidesz Party ahead of the EU Parliament elections. “There is a pro-war majority in Brussels today,” he said, adding that the bloc’s politics “are dominated by the logic of war.” EU politicians are already so invested in the conflict that they fail to see the flaws in their strategy, the prime minister argued.

Despite all the “money and weapons, the situation is not improving [for Kiev], in fact, it is getting worse… We are one step away from the West sending troops to Ukraine,” Orban warned. “This is a vortex of war that can drag Europe into its depths. Brussels is playing with fire.”

Budapest will not let itself be dragged into the hostilities, and “will not enter… the war on either side,” the prime minister pledged, adding that his country “must stand for peace”everywhere, including in “Brussels, Washington, the UN and NATO.”

“We don't want war, and we don't want Hungary to become a toy of great powers again,” Orban stated.

The idea of sending NATO troops to Ukraine has been repeatedly floated by Western leaders. French President Emmanuel Macron first raised it in February, saying “all options are possible.”

Macron has since doubled down, stating that there are “no limits” to support for Kiev. His words initially alarmed some NATO allies, who quickly denied having such plans. However, the French leader did receive backing from certain members of the US-led military bloc.

In March, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Russia’s military operation in Ukraine requires an “asymmetric escalation” on the part of the West. Warsaw’s top diplomat also called the idea of a NATO presence in Ukraine “not unthinkable.”

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said earlier in April that every NATO member already has military personnel in Ukraine operating as advisers or instructors. Last week, former British minister of state for the armed forces James Heappey told Sky News that sending NATO forces to Ukraine did “deserve consideration.”

Moscow has repeatedly warned that deploying NATO troops in Ukraine would bring the US-led bloc to the brink of a full-blown conflict with Russia. President Vladimir Putin stated in March that it would be “one step shy of a full-scale World War III.”

 

Reuters/RT

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Millions of students are using generative artificial intelligence to write papers as the popularity of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT proliferates.

A report this week from Turnitin, an online plagiarism spotting service for educators that recently launched an AI detection tool, said that over 22 million student papers (11% of the sample reviewed by the company) used AI to generate at least 20% of the writing since April 2023. Turnitin reviewed over 200 million papers across the globe, mostly from higher education institutions.

“We’re at an important juncture in education where technologies are transforming learning, and the need for academic integrity is more critical than ever. Everyone in education is looking for resources to enable them to perform at their best, and technologies, including our AI writing detection feature, help advance learning without sacrificing academic integrity.” — Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer of Turnitin

Educators and lawmakers alike are scrambling to address how AI is used in education amid concerns of cheating and plagiarism. So far, five U.S. states— West Virginia, Oregon, North Carolina, California, and Washington — have instituted policies governing the use of AI in schools. Individual colleges and universities are coming up with their own policies. But things are mostly still up in the air, and even state guidelines show the lack of clarity.

“...it is perhaps shortsighted to automatically consider all use of AI as ‘cheating’. Educators will need to rethink their ideas of what constitutes plagiarism and cheating in today’s world, and adapt their teaching, assignments, and expectations to this new reality.”— North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Concerns over AI helping students cheat are overblown, though, according to recent research from Stanford. The percentage of high school students who cheated on assignments actually dipped in 2023 as ChatGPT began taking off, researchers found.

“There are so many reasons why students cheat. They might be struggling with the material and unable to get the help they need…We need to help students and educators find ways to discuss the ethics of using this technology and when it is and isn’t useful for student learning.” — Denise Pope, senior lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Education

By the numbers

60-70%: Share of U.S. students who engage in at least one “cheating behavior” during the course of a month, a figure that’s been high “long before ChatGPT hit the scene,” Pope said.

220 million: Number of papers reviewed by Turnitin.

11%: Share of student papers found to have at least 20% AI-generated writing, or about 22 million.

3%: Share of student papers found to have at least 80% AI-generated writing, or about 6 million.

5: Number of states with AI guidelines for their public schools.

75%: Percentage of respondents in a recent  survey conducted by the investment bank Tyton Partners who said they’d keep using AI to complete assignments even if their institutions or teachers banned it.

 

Quartz

S&P Global has revealed that the Dangote refinery's relaxed quality standards for diesel have resulted in a significant reduction in domestic prices, marking a notable shift in Nigeria's fuel landscape. The decision to lower domestic prices by 37 percent was attributed to the production of high-sulphur diesel at the refinery.

In its report released on Thursday, S&P Global detailed how the high-sulphur diesel produced by the Dangote refinery led to the strategic move to decrease domestic prices. Unlike low-sulphur diesel, which is considered cleaner for the environment with sulphur levels below 500 ppm, high-sulphur diesel is primarily used for off-road purposes due to its potential to cause engine damage.

The reduction in prices was announced by the Dangote refinery on April 16, with the automotive gas oil (diesel) now priced at N1,000 per litre. This move has been facilitated by the relaxation of quality controls for diesel supply, enabling the refinery to gain a competitive edge over imports.

According to S&P Global, three market sources confirmed that the initial diesel supplies from the refinery had a sulphur content of around 650 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the 200 ppm cap enforced by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on imported products since March. This deviation from the regulatory cap has allowed the refinery to swiftly penetrate the market and mitigate fuel import costs, particularly amidst the depreciation of the naira.

Despite the refinery's intention to produce diesel conforming to Euro 5 specifications (10 ppm), its current production remains contingent on the full operationalization of its distillate hydrocracker unit. The report also highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the future sulphur content of Dangote's diesel supplies, as well as the response of importers to rapidly evolving specifications.

As the market adapts to these changes, the flow of diesel into West Africa faces growing uncertainty, with traders grappling with shifting specifications and supply dynamics. The production of high-sulphur diesel during refinery ramp-up stages is deemed characteristic, reflecting operational challenges and potential outage risks.

In light of these developments, stakeholders await further clarity on the trajectory of Dangote's diesel production and its implications for Nigeria's fuel market.

Nigeria has reached a pivotal agreement with Shell for the supply of gas to its ambitious $3.8 billion Brass methanol facility, marking a significant breakthrough in overcoming key obstacles towards the final investment decision on the project. Minister of State for Gas, Ekperikpe Ekpo, announced the milestone on Thursday, heralding a new era of progress for Nigeria's natural gas sector.

Blessed with Africa's largest natural gas reserves exceeding 200 trillion cubic feet, Nigeria has long grappled with unlocking the full potential of this valuable resource, hindered by financial limitations and inadequate infrastructure. However, with the Gas Supply and Purchase Agreement (GSPA) now in sight, Nigeria stands poised to harness its gas wealth for economic advancement.

According to Ekpo, negotiations with Shell's Nigeria CEO and executives from other key stakeholders have yielded fruitful outcomes, paving the way for the imminent execution of the GSPA next month.

This agreement is instrumental for the Brass methanol project, which will be situated on Brass Island in Bayelsa state.

The GSPA secures a reliable, long-term gas supply from a Shell-operated joint venture, ensuring sustained operations for the methanol production facility.

The commitment of the NNPC/Shell joint venture partners to provide uninterrupted gas supply underscores their dedication to the success of the Brass Methanol project.

The project encompasses a comprehensive infrastructure setup, including a gas processing plant, a methanol production and refining site, as well as export facilities for the finished products. With this agreement in place, Nigeria takes a decisive step forward in realizing its vision of becoming a global player in the methanol industry, leveraging its abundant natural gas resources for sustainable development and economic growth.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) unveiled a staggering revelation: 24.6 million children across Nigeria are ensnared in the clutches of child labour. This revelation emerged from the comprehensive 'Nigeria Child Labour Survey 2022', a report published to shed light on this grave societal issue.

The report pinpointed states like Cross River, Yobe, and Abia as the front-runners in this distressing chart, with figures soaring above 60 percent, painting a grim picture of the prevalence of child labour in these regions. According to the NBS, child labour encompasses any form of work that deprives children under 18 of their rightful childhood, potential, and dignity, exerting detrimental effects on their physical and mental well-being.

Unveiling the stark reality, the report highlighted that children between the ages of 5 to 17 are embroiled in economic activities constituting child labour, with a staggering 39.2 percent, equivalent to 24,673,485 children, trapped in this vicious cycle. Alarmingly, over 14 million of these children are subjected to hazardous work, accounting for 22.9 percent of children in this age bracket.

According to the report, there is a marginal difference in child labour participation between genders, with males slightly edging out females at 39.6 percent versus 38.8 percent. Moreover, it underscored a glaring geographical divide, with rural areas bearing the brunt of this crisis. Approximately 44.8 percent of children aged 5-17 in rural settings are embroiled in child labour, compared to 30 percent in urban areas.

Hazardous work exacerbates the plight of rural children, with more than 10.5 million engaged in such perilous activities, representing 26.8 percent of rural children, compared to 16.3 percent in urban locales. The report further dissected the age-based vulnerability, revealing that older children, particularly in the 15–17 age group, are disproportionately ensnared in hazardous work.

Zooming into the regional landscape, the northwest geopolitical zone emerges as the epicenter of this crisis, harboring the highest number of children in child labour. However, the south-east region, despite hosting a relatively smaller number of children in child labour, exhibits the highest prevalence rate at 49.9 percent.

State-wise, Cross River registers the highest percentage of children in child labour at a staggering 67.4 percent, closely followed by Yobe state at 62.6 percent. Conversely, Lagos state has the lowest child labour rate at 8.9 percent.

During a meeting with vehicle component manufacturers aimed at enhancing efficiency and local production in Nigeria's automotive sector, Joseph Osanipin, the Director General of the National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), disclosed a striking statistic: only 6 percent of Nigerians possess vehicles in the country. This revelation, made yesterday, underscores the pressing need to bolster domestic vehicle ownership rates and drive sustainable growth within the sector.

Osanipin emphasized the imperative of leveraging Nigeria's abundant talents and resources to achieve this objective. Comparing Nigeria's vehicle ownership rate to that of South Africa, which stands at 17.4 percent, he highlighted the vast potential for expansion within the Nigerian market.

Recognizing Nigeria's rich array of natural resources as fundamental raw materials for component production, Osanipin outlined NADDC's strategic focus on component parts to catalyze the automotive industry's development. He advocated for the transition of local assemblers from Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) to Completely Knocked Down (CKD) auto manufacturers, positioning Nigeria as a hub for comprehensive vehicle production.

Addressing the assembled component manufacturers, Osanipin urged them to embrace innovation and inclusivity, emphasizing the collective power to shape Nigeria's mobility landscape and pave the way for prosperity for future generations.

Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning as explosions could be heard near a major air base near Isfahan, raising fears of a possible Israeli strike following Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.

It remained unclear if the country was under attack, as no Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility and Israel’s military did not respond to a request for comment. However, tensions have remained high in the days since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria.

One Iranian government official and later Iran’s state-run television broadcaster suggested sites may have been targeted by drones.

IRNA said the defenses fired across several provinces. It did not elaborate on what caused the batteries to fire, though people across the area reported hearing the sounds.

In particular, IRNA said air defenses fired at a major air base in Isfahan, which long has been home to Iran’s fleet of American-made F-14 Tomcats — purchased before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The semiofficial Fars and Tasnim news agencies also reported the sound of blasts, without giving a cause. State television acknowledged “loud noise” in the area.

Isfahan also is home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site, which has been repeatedly targeted by suspected Israeli sabotage attacks. However, state television described all sites in the area as “fully safe.”

Dubai-based carriers Emirates and FlyDubai began diverting around western Iran about 4:30 a.m. local time. They offered no explanation, though local warnings to aviators suggested the airspace may have been closed.

Iran later announced it grounded commercial flights in Tehran and across areas of its western and central regions. Loudspeakers informed customers of the incident at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, online videos purported to show.

Iranian state television began a scrolling, on-screen alert acknowledging a “loud noise” near Isfahan, without immediately elaborating.

Hossein Dalirian, a spokesman for Iran’s civilian space program, said on the X social media platform that several small “quadcopter” drones had been shot down. A state television reporter in Isfahan said the same in a live report, saying “several small drones were flying in the sky over Isfahan, which were fired at.”

Meanwhile in Iraq, where a number of Iranian-backed militias are based, residents of Baghdad reported hearing sounds of explosions, but the source of the noise was not immediately clear.

 

AP

ISREAL’S REPORTS

IDF: IDF and ISA forces eliminated a terrorist cell in central Gaza; the terrorist responsible for investigations in Hamas' Internal Security Department was eliminated in the area of Beit Hanoun

This week, following operational information gathered by the Southern Command, an IAF aircraft struck and eliminated the terrorist Yussef Rafik Ahmed Shabat, responsible for investigations in Hamas' Internal Security Department in Beit Hanoun.

Shabat served as a security officer in Hamas' military intelligence wing of the Beit Hanoun Battalion, and his elimination significantly damages the terrorist organization's investigations department.

In addition, following precise intelligence information, the IDF and ISA directed an airstrike on a vehicle in which there were 10 terrorists.

On Wednesday, IAF fighter jets struck a mortar shell launcher in the area of Rimal from which a number of launches at IDF troops who were operating in the area were launched.

Furthermore, over the past day, the IAF struck dozens of terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip, including terrorists, observation posts, military structures, and additional terrorist infrastructure.

Attached is video footage of the IDF strikes in the Gaza Strip: https://bit.ly/3Q6HRk4

Attached are photos from the IDF's operational activity in the Gaza Strip: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC1804202439487645

** IDF: Locating and destroying underground tunnel routes and rocket production facilities; Expanding the operational hold on the Karni Corridor: footage from the targeted operation of the 162nd Division in the central Gaza Strip

Over the past week, the soldiers of the 401st Brigade combat team, together with forces of the Yahalom Unit, cleared and destroyed more than 100 terrorist infrastructure sites and eliminated more than 40 terrorists in close quarters combat and airstrikes. Among the terrorist infrastructure destroyed - several military targets of the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, among them, a facility used for the production of rockets and weapons of the Hamas terrorist organization; and a facility used for the production of long-range rocket missiles of the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization.

The soldiers conducted an operational raid on an underground combat control center located under Wadi Gaza designed to prevent IDF forces from crossing Wadi Gaza. Many weapons belonging toHamas terrorists were found in the combat compound.

During the operation, 17 tunnel shafts were destroyed, including offensive shafts. In addition, the forces located a number of launchers and launching pits used by the terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.

Before the troops entered the area and during the operation, the 215th Fire Control Brigade eliminated many terrorists. The forces of the brigade, IAF fighter jets and aircraft targeted dozens of targets. The artillery units targeted terrorist infrastructure in the central Gaza Strip.

At the same time, the Nahal Brigade combat team has been carrying out operational activities in the area of ​​the Karni Corridor for the past three months. The corridor is a route that separates the northern and southern Gaza Strip, from which the forces have carried out targeted raids.

During the divisional operation this week, the forces, acting on intelligence information, eliminated terrorists with precision missiles; located weapons and tunnel shafts; and destroyed an underground route in the area.

So far dozens of targeted raids have been carried out, more than 1,000 terrorists have been eliminated in the area, and more than 20 kilometers of underground tunnel routes in the area of ​​the corridor have been destroyed.

Attached is an animated infographic of footage of the underground tunnel routes and their destruction: https://bit.ly/4aXwId7

Attached is footage of the location and destruction of the tunnel shafts in the area by the 401st Brigade combat team: https://bit.ly/3Uoc93d

Attached is footage from the activity of the Nahal Brigade combat team in the Central Gaza Strip: https://bit.ly/3xDtg9s

Attached is footage of the strikes of the 215th Brigade in the Central Gaza Strip: https://bit.ly/4aCkgjf

Attached is an animation of the activity of the Nahal Brigade combat team in the Karni Corridor: https://bit.ly/3vXahpF

Attached are photos of the tunnel shafts that were located: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC09528

 

HAMAS’ REPORTS

Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades: We, in conjunction with the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, targeted the Zionist military site Abu Mutbiq, east of the Central Governorate, with a barrage of heavy-caliber mortar shells.

** A little while later... Scenes of the missile barrages used by the Al-Quds Brigades destroyed the occupied cities and settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.

** Hezbollah: After careful monitoring and anticipation of the enemy’s movement in the Al-Marj location, and upon the arrival of the soldiers and vehicles to the specified section, our fighters targeted them with missile weapons and directly hit them, leaving them dead and wounded.

** Leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah group, Abdul Malik al-Houthi:

- There will be no stability as the Israeli enemy occupies Palestine and commits crimes in Gaza.

- The Israeli enemy will not succeed through genocidal crimes in achieving an image of victory for its army.

- The Israeli enemy intensifies its crimes in the West Bank in an attempt to displace the Palestinians from it.

During 7 months of aggression, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, including many children and women.

Western support for the Israeli enemy does not stop.

** Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades:

After their return from the battle lines, our mujahideen confirmed that they had detonated two booby-trapped tunnels in the Zionist engineering forces, leaving them dead and wounded in the Al-Mughraqa area in the central Gaza Strip.

After their return from the battle lines, our mujahideen confirmed that they had detonated a minefield in enemy vehicles penetrating the Al-Mughraqa area in the middle of the Gaza Strip, destroying a number of them and leaving their crews dead and wounded.

** Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades: “The missile unit targets enemy concentrations east of the Central Governorate with a missile salvo in response to the occupation’s crimes against our people.”

 

Israel Defense Forces/Hamas Brigade al-Qassam

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian missiles strike Ukrainian airbase

Drone footage has emerged of multiple Russian missiles striking Aviatorskoe, an air base of the Ukrainian armed forces in Dnepropetrovsk Region.

The footage shows several MiG-29 fighters and transport aircraft at the airfield getting caught in blasts by what appear to be cluster munitions, delivered by an Iskander-M missile. Nearby hangars and munitions depots were also struck. 

Another video shows a direct hit on the S-300 air defense system deployed near the base, which did not engage the incoming missiles. The footage was captured by observation drones.

Aviatorskoe is located just south of the city of Dnepr, over 100 kilometers from the frontline.

 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

NATO working on more air defences for Ukraine, Stoltenberg says

NATO is working to send more air defence systems to Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, adding that delays in providing such aid were harming Kyiv's efforts to resist Russia's attacks.

"We have compiled data about the different air defence systems we have in NATO and focused on the Patriot systems. And we are working with allies to ensure that they redeploy some of their systems to Ukraine," he told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Italy.

"We are working at the possibility of more Patriot batteries to Ukraine. We are in dialogue with some specific countries," Stoltenberg said, calling supply of the Patriot "critical" as it is the most advanced defence system the alliance can count on.

Stoltenberg said other defence systems might also be provided to Ukraine, including the NASALS surface-to-air missile system.

"Delays in the delivery of air defence mean that more Russian missiles will hit their targets in Ukraine. Delays in delivery of ammunition mean that Russia will be able to push more along the front line," he added.

Stoltenberg said a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council would take place on Friday and that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was expected to participate virtually.

"I am encouraged by the commitment and the determination by NATO allies to stand up for Ukraine," he told reporters, adding there were encouraging signs that the U.S. Congress might soon unlock an aid package for Ukraine worth $60.84 billion.

 

RT/Reuters