Israel-Palestine War: Federal Government Calls For Ceasefire, Peaceful Resolution.
The Nigerian government has called for a ceasefire hours after Gaza’s rulers Hamas launched a multi-pronged assault at dawn with thousands of rockets and ground, air and sea forces, attacking and infiltrating Israeli towns and kibbutz communities.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, said the escalation between both countries would result in an unending cycle of pain and suffering for the civilian population, advising that both parties should exercise restraint and prioritise the safety of civilians.
He urged both parties to create room for humanitarian considerations, calling for dialogue.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria, therefore, calls on both sides to exercise restraint, prioritise the safety of civilians and give room for humanitarian considerations. We are therefore calling for a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue,” the statement read.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria is deeply concerned about the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas in the early hours of Saturday and calls for de-escalation and ceasefire.
“The cycle of violence and retaliation that the current escalation has assumed only serves to perpetuate an unending cycle of pain and suffering for the civilian population that bears the brunt of every conflict.
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Sahel Students Caught In Crisis With France.
France has suspended the issuance of visas from its consulates in Ouagadougou, and in Mali’s capital Bamako and Niger’s capital Niamey, citing security reasons.
“We can’t control the situation, so we’re stuck here and we try as best we can to be positive, even if it’s complicated”, Ouedraogo said.
The visa complications are just one impact that the deterioration of relations between the Sahel states and their former colonial power has had on people’s lives.
All three countries have undergone coups over the past three years.
All are facing jihadist insurgencies and have blamed France, historically an ally, for many of their struggles.
France’s troops and ambassadors are being pushed out of the Sahel countries.
Following hostile demonstrations in the capitals, France in August updated its travel advisories to include the three cities in its “red zone”, which already covered most of the region.
The decision to stop issuing visas by consulates on site is one aspect of what Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna called the “reduced operation of our embassies” in those countries.
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World Leaders Condemn Israel-Palestine War.
Countries around the world have condemned a wave of Palestinian attacks by land, sea and air that Israel’s army says left more than 200 dead.
Some countries also called for a de-escalation of the conflict, after Israel launched air strikes and other military operations targeting Gaza that Palestinian authorities say killed more than 230 people.
“We are at war,” Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when he vowed severe retaliation after Hamas’s surprise assault.
President Joe Biden said US support for Israel was “rock solid and unwavering”.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said: “The Kingdom calls for an immediate halt to the escalation between the two sides, protection of civilians, and self-control”.
The UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk said: “I call for an immediate stop to the violence, and appeal to all sides and key countries in the region to de-escalate to avoid further bloodshed.”
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said: “I unequivocally condemn the attack carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel.”
Brazil, which holds the UN Security Council presidency, condemned the attacks on Israel.
China said it was “deeply concerned” by the weekend’s dramatic escalation of violence between Israel and the Palestinians, urging all sides to show “calm”.
Russia’s foreign ministry called for an “immediate ceasefire”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country is fending off a Russian invasion, said Israel had an “indisputable” right to defend itself.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Israel and Palestinians to avoid further escalation.
France expressed “full solidarity with Israel and the victims” and underscored “its absolute rejection of terrorism and its commitment to Israel’s security”.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Israel “has our full solidarity” and “the right, guaranteed by international law, to defend itself against terrorism”.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was “shocked” by the attacks.
Japan “strongly condemns” the cross-border attacks, foreign minister Yoko Kamikawa said.
South Africa’s foreign ministry expressed its “grave concern over the recent devastating escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his country stood “in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour”.
Venezuela’s government expressed its “deep concern” over the clashes.
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Major Airlines Cancel Dozens Of Flights To Tel Aviv.
Major airlines cancelled dozens of flights to Tel Aviv this weekend after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale attack against Israel.
On the arrivals board at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport American Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Ryanair and Aegean Airlines were among those pulling flights.
However, airport authorities did not stop commercial air links with Eilat, Israel’s second international airport and tourist destination on the Red Sea.
“Given the current security situation in Tel Aviv, Lufthansa is cancelling all flights to and from Tel Aviv.
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Israel Army To ‘Use All Force To Destroy Hamas’.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to avenge what he said was a “black day” for Israel Saturday, saying the army will strike back at Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza with full force.
He says the IDF (army) is about to use all its force to destroy Hamas’s capabilities.
“We’ll strike them to the bitter end and avenge with force this black day they brought on Israel and its people,” he said, after Hamas militants launched a surprise dawn attack, sending hundreds of militants into Israel under cover of a huge rocket barrage.
Gun battles raged into the night after Hamas’ large-scale attack against Israel Saturday, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters to kill and abduct soldiers and civilians.
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Death Toll From Afghan Quakes Rises To Two Thousand.
The death toll from a series of earthquakes in western Afghanistan rose sharply on Sunday to more than 2,000.
The Taliban government said, as bodies continued to be pulled from demolished villages and buried in mass graves.
More than 1,300 homes were toppled when Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 quake — followed by eight strong aftershocks — jolted hard-to-reach areas 30 kilometres (19 miles) northwest of the provincial capital of Herat.
In the rural Zinda Jan district, village households were reduced to jumbles of broken masonry, where makeshift rescue teams continued to dig trenches on Sunday.
Aid gradually trickled into the disaster zone including food, water, tents and coffins for the dead who were pulled from the rubble by excavators and men with pickaxes and shovels.
Some of the bodies were shrouded in fleece blankets, as workers used those same tools to excavate their communal graves in the grave