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Hamas hands over six hostages but Israel delays release of 600 Palestinians

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that freeing Palestinian prisoners under the Gaza ceasefire deal will be delayed until Hamas ends its “humiliating ceremonies” while releasing Israeli hostages.
Since the ceasefire’s first phase began on January 19, Hamas has released 25 living Israeli hostages in ceremonies before crowds at various locations in Gaza.
Armed masked fighters escort the captives onto stages adorned with slogans. The hostages have spoken and waved.
The Red Cross has previously appealed to “all parties” for the swaps to be carried out in a “dignified and private” manner.
In the seventh such transfer, Hamas released six Israeli captives on Saturday but Israel put off releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange.
The Palestinian militant group called the move a “blatant violation” of the truce deal, the first phase of which is to expire in early March.
Israel had been expected to free more than 600 Palestinian prisoners.
“In light of Hamas’ repeated violations — including the disgraceful ceremonies that dishonour our hostages and the cynical use of hostages for propaganda — it has been decided to delay the release of terrorists”, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.
The delay will last “until the release of the next hostages is ensured, without the humiliating ceremonies”, it added.
From Washington, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Hamas would be “destroyed” if it did not release all remaining hostages.

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Israel vowed to destroy Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered more than 15 months of war. The attack resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, and Israel’s retaliation killed more than 48,000, according to figures from both sides.
Families of Palestinian prisoners had waited with uncertainly into the night on Saturday, hoping for their release.
In the southern city of Khan Yunis, Umm Diya al-Agha, 80, said she had received word her son was among those scheduled to be freed, after 33 years in prison.
“If my heart were made of iron, it would have melted and shattered. Every day, I have been waiting for this moment”, she said.
– ‘Coming back home’ –
The Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group had said Israel would free 620 inmates on Saturday, most of them Gazans taken into custody during the war.
Before Netanyahu’s announcement, Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif al-Qanou said Israel’s “failure to comply with the release… at the agreed-upon time constitutes a blatant violation of the agreement”.
Qanou called on the truce mediators to pressure Israel to “implement its provisions without delay or obstruction”.
The six Israelis released Saturday were the last group of living hostages set to be freed under the truce’s first phase.
Negotiations for a second phase, which is meant to lead to a permanent end to the war, have yet to begin.
At a ceremony in Nuseirat, central Gaza, hostages Eliya Cohen, 27, Omer Shem Tov, 22, and Israeli-Argentine Omer Wenkert, 23, waved from a stage, flanked by masked Hamas militants, before being transferred to the Red Cross.
“I saw the look on his face. He’s calm, he knows he’s coming back home… He’s a real hero,” said Wenkert’s friend Rory Grosz.
Under the cold winter rain in Rafah, southern Gaza, militants handed over Tal Shoham, 40, and Avera Mengistu, 38, who both appeared dazed.
A sixth hostage, Hisham al-Sayed, 37, was later released in private and taken back to Israeli territory, the military said.
Sayed, a Bedouin Muslim, and Mengistu, an Ethiopian Jew, had been held in Gaza for about a decade after they entered the territory individually.
Sayed’s family called it “a long-awaited moment”.
Hamas said they freed Sayed in private to “honour and respect” Palestinians inside Israel.
– ‘Mix-up’ –
On Thursday, the first transfer of dead hostages under the truce sparked anger in Israel after analysis concluded that captive Shiri Bibas’s remains were not among the four bodies returned.
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk condemned the “parading of bodies” during a ceremony in which coffins, with pictures of the dead attached, were displayed on a slogan-bedecked stage.
Bibas and her two young sons became symbols of Israel’s hostage ordeal.
Hamas admitted a possible “mix-up of bodies”, and late Friday handed over more human remains, which the Bibas family said had been identified as the mother’s.
Hamas has long maintained that Shiri and her sons were killed in an Israeli air strike.
Forensics expert Chen Kugel, however, said an autopsy conducted on their remains found “no evidence of injuries caused by a bombing”.
Out of 251 people taken hostage during the October 2023 attack, 62 are still held in Gaza including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,215 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,319 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.
Vanguard News
The post Hamas hands over six hostages but Israel delays release of 600 Palestinians appeared first on Vanguard News.
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BREAKING: Pandemonium as explosion rips through trans-Niger pipeline in Rivers

A powerful explosion rocked the Trans-Niger Pipeline at Bodo, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State late Monday night, sending flames into the night sky near the ongoing Bodo-Bonny Road construction site.
The cause of the explosion remains unknown, but the affected section of the major oil pipeline is currently ablaze.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the incident resulted from human interference, though concerns are rising amid recent threats from militant groups to target oil installations in the region.
READ ALSO: Fire destroys millions-worth goods at popular Lagos market
Residents reported hearing a loud blast before spotting flames billowing from the pipeline.
“The fire is still raging, and people are worried about the potential impact on the community and the environment,” a local source said.
The Trans-Niger Pipeline, a critical oil transport route, has previously been a target for sabotage and illegal bunkering, leading to environmental damage and economic losses.
READ ALSO: Tanker explosion in Ibadan claims driver’s life, injures one
The latest explosion has raised fears of renewed attacks on energy infrastructure in the Niger Delta.
READ ALSO:

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Officials and emergency responders are expected to assess the damage and determine the cause of the explosion.
Meanwhile, security agencies have been put on high alert to prevent further incidents.
The blast underscores the fragile security situation surrounding Nigeria’s oil infrastructure, with stakeholders calling for increased protection of critical energy assets.
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Sisters, earn your money and respect. It’s not every Rod that must enter your Jerusalem – Akwa Ibom Revenue Board boss advises women

Executive Director of the Akwa Ibom State Internal Revenue Service (AKIRS), Leo Umana, has advised women to earn their own money and respect. Sisters: Have your own money. It’s not every Rod that must enter your Jerusalem. Earn your money and respect, he wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. The post Sisters, earn your money and respect. It’s not every Rod that must enter your Jerusalem – Akwa Ibom Revenue Board boss advises women appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.
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Tinubu ‘planted his men everywhere’ for 2027 – APC chieftain Joe Igbokwe

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has claimed that President Bola Tinubu has strategically positioned key allies across various sectors to secure his re-election in 2027.
In a post on his official Facebook page on Monday, March 17, Igbokwe asserted that Tinubu began planning for a second term even before assuming office.
He expressed confidence that opposition candidates would struggle to defeat the president.
“The truth is that those who want to challenge PBAT in 2027 are not as smart as he is,” Igbokwe wrote.
“Before he even stepped into Aso Villa, he had started planning for 2027. His challengers may not know that the Apamaku (master strategist) had already planted his men everywhere.”
His statement comes amid allegations from opposition figures that Tinubu is deliberately causing internal crises within rival political parties to weaken any challenge to his rule.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the ruling APC of orchestrating leadership struggles within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP).
According to Atiku, these alleged interferences are part of a broader strategy to suppress political opposition ahead of the next general elections.
While the presidency has not officially responded to these claims, political analysts say the growing tensions suggest an intense battle ahead for Nigeria’s 2027 elections.
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