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‘Tsunami’ of Changes in Algerian Army Leadership

The Algerian Republican Guard is seen in front of the Presidential Palace in Algiers October 16, 2014. (File Photo: Reuters)
The Algerian Republican Guard is seen in front of the Presidential Palace in Algiers October 16, 2014. (File Photo: Reuters)
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‘Tsunami’ of Changes in Algerian Army Leadership

The Algerian Republican Guard is seen in front of the Presidential Palace in Algiers October 16, 2014. (File Photo: Reuters)
The Algerian Republican Guard is seen in front of the Presidential Palace in Algiers October 16, 2014. (File Photo: Reuters)

Algerian Air Force Commander Major General Abdelkader Lounes was officially removed from his position, according to the Ministry of National Defense, just 24 hours after sacking Defense Ministry Secretary-General Mohamed Zenakhri and replacing him with General Abdelhamid Ghris.

In a statement, the Ministry indicated that Deputy Minister of National Defense, Chief of Staff of the People’s National Army Lieutenant-General, Ahmed Gaid Salah, will visit the Air Force Command on Wednesday where he will chair the appointment ceremony of Major-General Hamid Boumaaza as Commander of the Air Force.

Over the past two months, about 20 senior officers have been sacked and replaced.

During Lounes’ tenure, two military planes have crashed - One in 2013 when at least 63 people were killed and another last February, claiming the lives of more than 250 people. The army has opened an investigation into the two incidents, but has not announced the results.

French-speaking opposition newspaper al-Watan reported that based on the military prosecutor’s order, the homes of five army generals, who are under travel ban, were searched a few days ago.

The newspaper was referring to the commander of the first military zone in central Algeria, Lahbib Chentouf, the commander of the second military zone, Major General Said Bey, fourth military commander Abderrazak Cherif, Director of Finance at the Defense Ministry Boudjemaa Boudouaouar, and the head of the gendarmerie, Major General Menad Nouba.

Watan said the campaign also included the director of the army's social security fund, Major General Mohammad Remili, and commander of Algeria’s ground forces Major-General Ahcene Tafer.

The post of the army’s commander of ground forces is highly respectable. It has been previously occupied by the current Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Ahmed Gaid Salah .

Media sources said some sacked generals were under investigation in corruption cases, but no official charges have been issued against them.

The Algerian public has been preoccupied with several corruption cases after 701 kg of cocaine were confiscated at the end of May. Little is known about this case, except that the main culprit, Kamal Shekhi, a red meat importer, is in prison.

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Arab World

Israeli Strikes Kill Three Palestinians, Including a Child, in Gaza, Medics Say

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Strikes Kill Three Palestinians, Including a Child, in Gaza, Medics Say

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike that targeted a police post, in Gaza City, May 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli strikes killed at least three Palestinians, including a child, and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said.

Medics said a Palestinian was killed and two others were wounded by an Israeli airstrike near the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, while another was killed and several others were wounded by Israeli tank shelling near the central area of the enclave.

Later on Tuesday, an Israeli strike targeted a police station in northern Gaza, killing a 15-year-old child, medics said. The Hamas-run interior ministry said ‌some policemen ‌were also wounded in the attack.

Reuters has previously reported ‌that ⁠Israel has intensified its ⁠attacks on Gaza's Hamas-run police force, which the group has used to reinforce its hold in the areas it controls in the strip.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on any of the incidents.

Violence in Gaza has persisted despite an October 2025 ceasefire, with Israel conducting almost daily attacks on Palestinians. Israel and Hamas have blamed each ⁠other for ceasefire violations.

At Al Shifa Hospital, the largest ‌medical facility still partially functional in the ‌enclave, relatives and friends arrived to bid farewell to one of those ‌killed on Tuesday, Mohammed Al-Ghandour. Two girls were crying and being ‌comforted by a woman outside the hospital's morgue.

"The Zionist enemy doesn't know anything called truce and does not commit to international treaties or laws or humanitarian laws," said the victim's uncle, Abu Omar Al-Naffar.

At least 830 Palestinians ‌have been killed since the ceasefire deal took effect, according to local medics, while Israel says fighters have ⁠killed four ⁠of its soldiers over the same period.

Israel says its strikes are aimed at thwarting attempts by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters to stage attacks against its forces.

More than 72,500 Palestinians have been killed since the Gaza war started in October 2023, most of them civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.

Since the truce last October, Israel still occupies more than half of Gaza, where it has ordered residents out and demolished almost all remaining structures. Nearly the entire population of more than 2 million Palestinians now lives in a narrow strip along the coast, mainly in tents and damaged buildings, under the de facto control of Hamas.

Arab World

Israel Court Extends Gaza Flotilla Activists’ Detention Until Sunday

Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
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Israel Court Extends Gaza Flotilla Activists’ Detention Until Sunday

Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)
Brazil's activist Thiago Avila is escorted into court in the Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon on May 5, 2026. (AFP)

An Israeli court has extended the detention of two foreign activists from a Gaza-bound flotilla until Sunday, a rights group representing them said, as authorities continue to question the pair.

Spanish national Saif Abu Keshek and Brazilian national Thiago Avila appeared before a court in the city of Ashkelon for their second hearing on Tuesday, after they were brought to Israel for questioning last week.

The two, held in a prison in the southern Israeli city, were among dozens of activists aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla intercepted by Israeli forces off the coast of Greece early on Thursday.

At their first hearing on Sunday, the court extended their detention by two days. A second hearing was held on Tuesday, where both appeared with their legs shackled.

"The court approved their detention until Sunday morning" at Tuesday's hearing, Miriam Azem, international advocacy coordinator at the Israeli rights group Adalah told AFP.

An AFP journalist saw the two activists brought to the courtroom.

Adalah said the two activists were on hunger strike, with Tuesday their sixth day of protest.

On Monday, the rights group alleged the pair had been subjected to physical and psychological abuse in detention.

- Abuse claims -

Both Abu Keshek and Avila are being held in isolation, with "high-intensity lighting" on at all times in their cells, Adalah said, adding that Avila was being held in "extremely cold temperatures".

"They are kept blindfolded at all times whenever they are moved outside their cells, including during medical examinations," it said.

Israeli authorities have rejected the abuse claims.

At Sunday's hearing, Adalah said the state attorney had presented a list of offences the pair were accused of, including "assisting the enemy during wartime" and "membership in and providing services to a terrorist organization".

But Adalah's lawyers challenged the state's jurisdiction, arguing there had been an "unlawful abduction" of the two activists in international waters.

Israel's foreign ministry said both individuals were affiliated with the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), a group accused by Washington of "clandestinely acting on behalf of" Palestinian group Hamas.

The ministry said Abu Keshek was a leading PCPA member, and that Avila was also linked to the group and "suspected of illegal activity".

The flotilla's vessels had set sail from France, Spain and Italy with the aim of breaking Israel's blockade of Gaza and bringing humanitarian supplies to the devastated Palestinian territory.

But they were intercepted by Israeli forces off the coast of Greece.

The Global Sumud Flotilla's first voyage last year was also intercepted by Israeli forces off the coasts of Egypt and Gaza.

Israel controls all entry points into Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007.

Throughout the Gaza war that started in October 2023, there have been shortages of critical supplies in the territory, with Israel at times cutting off aid entirely.

Arab World

With Wood Scarce, Gaza Carpenters Make Simple Beds from Pallets

Palestinian carpenter Mohammed Wafi builds furniture from recycled wooden pallets in his workshop amid shortages of materials in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinian carpenter Mohammed Wafi builds furniture from recycled wooden pallets in his workshop amid shortages of materials in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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With Wood Scarce, Gaza Carpenters Make Simple Beds from Pallets

Palestinian carpenter Mohammed Wafi builds furniture from recycled wooden pallets in his workshop amid shortages of materials in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Palestinian carpenter Mohammed Wafi builds furniture from recycled wooden pallets in his workshop amid shortages of materials in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 2, 2026. (Reuters)

As Israeli restrictions continue to curb the entry of goods into Gaza, local carpenters are turning to scrap wood and shipping pallets to make much-needed basic beds and tables in a strip battered by two years of war between Hamas and Israel.

In a workshop in southern Gaza, carpenters dismantle used pallets to make beds, cupboards, and shelves for families displaced by fighting, after regular construction materials became scarce or prohibitively expensive.

Mohammed Wafi, 34, a carpenter in Khan Younis, said pallets became one of the few available sources of wood when limited ‌aid trucks began entering ‌Gaza.

Demand for his handiwork has grown as people living ‌in ⁠tents seek basic furniture ⁠to get by, Wafi said. Even recycled furniture has become more costly as prices for basic components soar.

"Today people say, 'I just need something to get by, something to get my clothes off the floor'... especially those (living) in tents," said Wafi, who has worked in carpentry for 16 years.

"Due to the rats and cockroaches, they need a tent or a bed to be lifted off the ground," he said.

Rats and parasites are spreading ⁠through Gaza's tent camps, biting people as they sleep, gnawing through ‌possessions, and spreading disease.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency ‌that coordinates aid into Gaza, didn't respond to a request for comment. Wood is a construction material ‌that Israel bans from entry to Gaza because it is considered a dual-use ‌item - items for civilian but also potential military use.

"We used to get a kilo of nails for 5 shekels ($1.70). Today, a kilo of nails costs around 100 or 130 shekels," Wafi said. Hinges and other fittings have also multiplied in price.

Still, furniture made from pallets remains far ‌cheaper than conventional bedroom sets, consisting of a bed, closet and dresser, he said. A pallet set sells for 4,000 to ⁠5,000 shekels compared ⁠to 18,000 for a traditional set.

Shortages of electricity and wood have slowed production, he added, leaving carpenters unable to guarantee delivery times.

The ceasefire in Gaza has been repeatedly violated, with over 830 Palestinians and four Israeli soldiers reported killed since it began in October, according to Palestinian and Israeli tallies.

Israel cites security concerns for curbs on Gaza, and COGAT has previously said it invests considerable efforts to ensure aid reaches Gaza and has denied restricting supplies.

In tent encampments near Khan Younis, Mohammed Tayseer, who has lived in a tent for two years, said he slept on the ground until recently.

"The ground is sandy and dirty, and as you can see, you find the clothes full of sand. There are rats and mice," he said.

"One's back hurts and is stiff from sleeping on the floor... now (we) have a bed," he said.