Gaza, Nigeria, Libya

Today's three stories you should know

Gaza

At least 23 people, including seven children, were killed by Israeli air raids in Gaza this morning, according to the enclave’s health ministry. A medic who arrived at the scene to tend to the wounded was killed in a second strike, reports said, and a five-month-old baby was among the dead. With about half of Gaza’s prewar population of two million displaced, tents were ripped apart in an overcrowded camp near Khan Younis. The Israeli army, without giving proof, said it was responding to one of its soldiers being wounded by gunfire. Though it has faded from the top headlines, Israel has carried out near daily strikes on Gaza after ostensibly agreeing a ceasefire with Hamas in January. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 560 people, most of them civilians.

More from Reuters here.

Nigeria

The death toll from attacks on two villages in western Nigeria has risen to at least 170, according to lawmakers. The attacks were carried out by the Lakurawa, an armed group affiliated with ISIS, Mohammed Omar Bio, a member of parliament representing the area, told AP. Nigeria, particularly in the northwest, is beset by several intersecting security crises, including rebellions by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS and organized gangs kidnapping large groups of people for ransom. The U.S. in December carried out airstrikes against an armed group in the country after claims that Christian communities were being singled out, despite data which showed the militants kill vastly more Muslims.

More from AP here.

Libya

Libya’s chief prosecutor’s office says it has begun an investigation into the killing of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son and once heir apparent to the country’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Saif al-Islam’s office issued a statement in which it said he was killed in a confrontation with four gunmen who entered his house. The 53-year-old, who was released in 2017 by a militia that had been holding him since 2011, spent much of the time since underground for fear of assassination but appeared in the city of Sabha in 2021 to file papers for a presidential run, in which he hoped to ride a wave of nostalgia for the rule of his father given the country’s collapse into chaos after he was overthrown. His controversial candidacy contributed to the collapse of election plans, and Libya returned to stalemate, with power split between two competing governments.

More from the New Arab here.