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Tag: Gaza

  • Over 21,000 children missing in Gaza, says Save the Children

    Over 21,000 children missing in Gaza, says Save the Children

    AS many as 21,000 children in Gaza are estimated to be trapped under the rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or separated from their families, Save the Children said yesterday.

    The British advocacy group said the latest waves of displacement caused by Israel’s offensive in Rafah – where thousands of Palestinians were seeking refuge – have separated more children from their families.

    In its newly published report, Save the Children said it was “nearly impossible to collect and verify information under the current conditions in Gaza”.

    “Save the Children estimates approximately 21,000 children are missing in Gaza,” the report said.

    “At least 17,000 children are believed to be unaccompanied and separated and approximately 4,000 children are likely missing under the rubble, with an unknown number also in mass graves.”

    An unknown number of children have been “forcibly disappeared” including some who were “detained and forcibly transferred out of Gaza”, with their whereabouts remaining unknown.

    Read Also: Netanyahu opposes Israeli military ‘tactical pauses’ for Gaza aid

    More than 14,000 children have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out on October 7, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry and UNICEF.

    Gaza’s Education Ministry put the number of children killed at 15,000 earlier this month.

    Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, Jeremy Stoner, called for an independent investigation to be conducted and for those responsible to be held accountable.

    “Families are tortured by the uncertainty of the whereabouts of their loved ones,” he said. “No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child’s body.

    “Gaza has become a graveyard for children, with thousands of others missing, their fates unknown.”

    At least 37,600 Palestinians have been killed since the war started following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel which killed more than 1,200 people. The report said 33 Israeli children have been killed during the conflict.

    It added that about 250 Palestinian children are also missing from the occupied West Bank in the Israeli military detention system. Their families are unable to confirm their locations and well-being due to an increase in restrictions on visits since October.

    Save the Children also called for a ceasefire.

    “We desperately need a ceasefire to find and support the missing children who have survived and to

  • Nigeria backs Biden’s Gaza ceasefire proposal

    Nigeria backs Biden’s Gaza ceasefire proposal

    Nigeria has thrown its weight behind the United States’ proposed ceasefire between Israel and Palestine.

    West Bank has been under Israeli siege since October 7 retaliation attack following the invasion of Israel by Hamas.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, also called for global action to de-escalate violence in the region.

    Ambassador Tuggar in a statement by his media aide, Alkasim Abdulkadir stated: “The Biden Ceasefire proposal should be embraced by world leaders and the totality of the international community— to intensify efforts towards a speedy resolution of the conflict, and the immediate cessation of the attendant extreme violence in Gaza and all other innocent civilians affected by the conflict.

    “Equally important is the continuous, sufficient, and unhindered provision of lifesaving humanitarian supplies and services for civilians.”

    The minister also assured the US of Nigeria’s support to bring about a complete cessation of violence and an end to the senseless loss of human lives and manmade humanitarian crises.

    Read Also: Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza reportedly kills at least 35

    He stressed: “We are concerned that the ongoing carnage is setting a bad precedent for the international system of justice and are mindful that justice is antithetical to revenge. The Biden plan presents a clear path towards progress and the conditions required for peace.

    “President Joe Biden’s proposal includes a deal that will lead to a permanent ceasefire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of hostages, and a major reconstruction plan to rebuild homes, schools, and hospitals. Nigeria believes the Biden plan is the best way forward for all parties and can prevent any repetition of the tragic deaths on 8 June of more than 200 people at the Nuseirat refugee camp.”

  • The Children of Gaza

    The Children of Gaza

    Please spare a thought at this very minute for the children of Gaza. Many of them have been rendered homeless as a result of unrelenting bombardment of their homestead. They have been reduced to a precarious and feral existence as they eke out a living like slum rats in the massive ruins of Gaza. Some of them who have had their parents killed in front of them or siblings silenced forever in the apocalyptic  rubble are so traumatized by loss and the psychic intensity of their ordeal that they refer to the departed in present terms just as if they are around the corner and about to show up.

      It has now been revealed by medical experts that many of the kids are in urgent need of psychiatric rehabilitation as they manifest either suicidal tendencies or homicidal compulsions. A devastated war zone is the ideal breeding ground for war-mongers. These are the future Hamas warriors and implacable anti-Zionist ideologues. They will never be sworn to peace but to sweet revenge, and having seen what superior technology and better organization can do to hapless ancestors, they will come better organized and better prepared.

      Will the world ever learn? Will human-beings ever appreciate their mortal frailties and capacity for monumental errors of judgment? It is curious that while we are trying to deal with the seemingly interminable war in Gaza, we are already stoking the fire of the next round. In Gaza, we have seen the enemy and it is ourselves. Gaza has been a testing ground for new technologies of warfare, revealing a new capacity of humans to inflict maximum punishment and suffering on each other. The Middle East and the world will never be the same again.

     But as it is usually the case with human history, there is always a ray of hope and possibility in even the worst and most extreme of human adversities. Despite the horrendous suffering of the Gazanites and the horrible pains inflicted on them that may endure for generations to come, they are the unexpected winners of the moral and psychological warfare, not to talk of the propaganda blitz. In physical victory, the much lionized and admired nation of Israel stands diminished, depleted and psychologically drained even where the Israelis are not the original aggressors in this round of conflict.

    Read Also: Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza reportedly kills at least 35

       Instead of being united by collective adversity, the Israeli society is badly demoralized and bitterly divided. Never in the history of humanity has triumph been more costly. As can be seen from the global eruptions against the war and in particular the momentous upheavals on western campuses, the Zionist franchise has taken a battering from which it is unlikely to recover. Never has an emphatic victory turned out to be more hollow and more Pyrrhic. It is most unlikely that Benjamin Netanyahu himself will survive a victory parade on the streets of Tel Aviv.

      As the Yoruba people will put it, a strong man without caution and discretion will always end up as the king among the weakling.

    And a volcanic eruption from Voltaire

    Upon seeing a young journalist importuning him for money again, Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, the great French philosopher, writer and publicist exploded.

    Voltaire: Young man, if I were you, I wouldn’t be proud of myself.

    Young journalist:  But I must live!!

     Voltaire: I fail to see why.

  • Maldives to ban Israeli passport holders from visiting over Gaza war

    Maldives to ban Israeli passport holders from visiting over Gaza war

    The government of the Maldives said plans were on to bar Israeli nationals from entering the archipelago due to the ongoing Gaza war.

    The cabinet had recommended amending “necessary laws to prevent Israeli passport holders from entering the Maldives,” the office of President Mohamed Muizzu said on Sunday.

    Muizzu had decided to follow the proposal, it said.

    The ban would be enforced as soon as possible, Interior Minister Ali Ihusaan told journalists.

    “Additionally, in the case of Palestine and Israel, the President decided to appoint a special envoy to assess Palestinian needs,” the statement continued.

    Read Also: No Gaza ceasefire until Israel destroys Hamas, Netanyahu says

    “The President further decided to set up a fundraising campaign to assist our brothers and sisters in Palestine with the help of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.”

    The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded by recommending that Israeli citizens refrain from travelling to the Maldives, a high-end holiday destination known for its white beaches, coral reefs, and crystal waters.

    The ministry said those already in the country should consider returning to Israel.

    Israel issued a travel warning for the Maldives in December, citing anti-Israeli sentiments over the Gaza war in the Muslim-majority country where Islam is the state religion.

    The two nations don’t maintain full diplomatic ties, but Israelis have so far been able to holiday in the Maldives.

    Last year, some 11,000 Israeli tourists visited the archipelago, according to Maldives officials. (dpa/NAN)

  • FG condemns escalation of attacks on civilian targets in Gaza

    FG condemns escalation of attacks on civilian targets in Gaza

    The federal government Thursday, May 30, strongly condemned the onslaught on defenceless civilians in Gaza.

    Israeli military and Hamas have been on a war path since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel 

    Nigeria, in a statement signed by its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar expressed concern about the safety and welfare of the civilian population of Gaza.

    The statement reads: “The government and people of Nigeria condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the onslaught on defenceless civilians currently being witnessed in Gaza in the course of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The latest deadly attacks on the Rafah Displacement Camps in Southern Gaza on Sunday the 26th, which killed about 45 people, mostly women and children, represents an unfortunate addition to the list of strikes on soft civilian targets with devastating effects which have now characterized the crisis.

    “As it stands, the Rafah attacks, just like the bombing of the Al Shifa Hospital in early April, the serial bombing of schools, particularly in Khan Younis, the March 2024 bombing of the Firas Market and the Nuseirat Refugee Camp Market; the drone attacks on the World Central Kitchen aid staff in April, indicates a most regrettable affront on humanity, which must be denounced in its entirety.

    “Nigeria is, therefore, as grossly concerned about the safety and welfare of the civilian population of Gaza as it is about the protection of the dignity and sacredness of human life in the enclave.  It deplores the already mature humanitarian catastrophe that has developed out of this regrettable situation. Nigeria is greatly dismayed at the flagrant disregard of ceasefire agreements, the violation of humanitarian corridors, and the deliberate sabotaging of aid and relief efforts.

    Read Also: WHO chief urges Israel to lift restrictions on aid to Gaza

    “Nigeria, therefore, strongly maintains the stance that the fundamental human rights, including and especially that to life, of the vulnerable civilian population of Gaza must be preserved at all cost. We call on all stakeholders—including the warring parties (Israel and Palestine), the United Nations, especially its Security Council, the European Union, human rights groups, civil society organisations, world leaders, and the international community—to intensify efforts towards a speedy resolution of the conflict, and the immediate cessation of the attendant carnage on the defenceless people, not just of Gaza, but on both sides of the divide. No lesser alternative will be acceptable.

     “While we consider intervention on behalf of the people of Gaza as a far-reaching contribution to the preservation of humanity and its values, we also reaffirm our position regarding the two-state solution as vital to the amelioration of the prevailing situation.”

  • Gaza truce talks resume in Cairo on Wednesday – Reports

    Gaza truce talks resume in Cairo on Wednesday – Reports

    The talks on reaching a truce in the Gaza Strip resumed with the participation of all parties in the Egyptian capital city of Cairo, Al-Qahera Al-Ekhbariya broadcaster reported on Wednesday, citing a source.

    “Truce talks have resumed today in Cairo in the presence of all parties,” the source said.

    On Monday, Israel started a military operation in eastern Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and took control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing with Egypt.

    Later the same day, Hamas informed Qatari and Egyptian mediators that it agreed to the terms of the ceasefire deal they had drafted.

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the terms unacceptable. and on Tuesday, the Hamas delegation returned for negotiations in Cairo.

    On Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel and breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases.

    Nearly 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted during the attack.

    Read Also: U.S ‘reviewing’ Gaza ceasefire proposal, opposes Rafah invasion

    Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages.

    More than 34,800 people have been killed so far by Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.

    More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.

    (Sputnik/NAN)

  • U.S ‘reviewing’ Gaza ceasefire proposal, opposes Rafah invasion

    U.S ‘reviewing’ Gaza ceasefire proposal, opposes Rafah invasion

    The United States has said it is reviewing a Hamas response to a Gaza ceasefire proposal while refusing to provide any details about the deal or what exactly the Palestinian group has agreed to.

    Officials at the White House and Department of State were tight-lipped about the ceasefire talks yesterday, but they reasserted that the release of Israeli captives in Gaza remains a top priority for the U.S.

    State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller said Washington will “withhold judgement” on Hamas’s response to the deal until it has time to fully review it.

    Read Also: Aircraft technical fault forces Shettima to aborts US trip

    “I can confirm that Hamas has issued a response. We are reviewing that response now and discussing it with our partners in the region,” he said.

    Miller declined to say whether Hamas agreed to a US-backed offer or a different version of the proposal.

     The administration of US President Joe Biden has been pushing for a temporary ceasefire for months, arguing that such an agreement would get Israeli captives out of Gaza, allow for more aid to enter the territory, and provide a chance for a lasting solution to the war.

    Hamas had announced earlier on Monday that it informed Egyptian and Qatari mediators of its agreement to a deal proposed by the two countries.

  • Gaza: US failed resolution was biased, says envoy

    Gaza: US failed resolution was biased, says envoy

    The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah Shawesh, has described as biased the failed United States resolution on Gaza.

    Shawesh also alleged that Israel violated Ramadan ceasefire agreement.

    The envoy disclosed this at the weekend while speaking on the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza.

    He said U.S was biased in its resolution as it failed to call for immediate ceasefire.

    He said: “On Friday, March 22, the USA presented a resolution before the Security Council, which did not pass due to a veto. In this regard, and despite many other criticisms, I would like to highlight the following points:

    “So all what you hear on the media about the ceasefire resolution is spout empty words. The US resolution fail to call for an immediate ceasefire that the secretary of state Blinken theorize for it on the media day before table it on the security council as the magic stack to put an end to the human suffering in Gaza.

    Read Also; Okuama-17 and improbable honours

    “The US resolution fell short of condemning the ongoing Israeli massacre against the Palestinian people. Instead, it gave Israel the green light to continue its textbook genocide.

    “The US resolution emprise and incubated all the Israeli claims about Oct 7 even before any independent fact finding mission or inquiry mission established by independent intergovernmental body to come with final report on what happened on that day.

    “The US resolution mentioned the 132 Israeli hostages in Gaza but did not say a word about the more than 7,000 abducted and hostage Palestinians in Israeli concentration camps and prisons, all of whom are subjected to torture, degradation, and ill-treatment, resulting in the deaths of 12 of them so far.

    “This is a clear form of racism and white supremacy, prioritizing the lives of Israelis over the lives of Palestinians.

    “The US resolution deliberately did not mention any single words on the UN body, UNRWA, which is the most expert and capable body to tackle the humanitarian crises in Gaza, in clear complicity to support the Israeli occupation request to dismantle it. When it came to the humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian no one can deny the crucial role that the UNRWA played since Al-Nakba 1948.

    “It is important to note that the US Congress voted not to resume funding for UNRWA until at least 2025, a move welcomed by Israel, which declared that the UN agency will not be part of Gaza’s future.

    “The US did not mention Israel the occupation power except one time in the context of the two state solution.”

    He also accused the Israeli authorities of not respecting UN resolution which called for ceasefire during the ongoing Ramadan.

    He said: “On Monday, March 25, the Security Council adopted the Resolution 2728 calling for an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan. While the ink on the resolution is not yet dry, Israeli cannon barrels are still firing and claiming more innocent Palestinian lives.

    “On a practical level, this means Israel has turned its back on the Security Council. Israeli pushback on the UN ceasefire resolution, and the war minister Yoav Gallant said Israel has no moral right to stop the war in Gaza.

    “The Israeli occupation authorities have continued their aggression, restrictions, and repressive measures in the occupied West Bank since the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.

    “They have deployed more than 24 military battalions there, imposed a comprehensive siege, cut off ties with partial sieges on all regions and towns, deployed over 750 checkpoints, installed more iron gates, and forced citizens to travel on bumpy roads that consume their time and money.”

  • Saudi king calls on International community to end Gaza crimes

    Saudi king calls on International community to end Gaza crimes

    Saudi Arabia’s King, Salman bin Abdulaziz has called international community to halt “heinous crimes” in the Gaza Strip amid the deadly five-month Israeli offensive on the Palestinian enclave.

    The King made this call in a message read by Saudi Minister of Media, Salman Al-Dosary to announce the beginning of Ramadan and greet all Muslims. 

    He highlighted the need for safe passage of humanitarian passage in the enclave.

    “It pains us that the arrival of the month of Ramadan this year coincides with the ongoing attacks endured by our brothers in Palestine, and we stress the need for the international community to assume its responsibilities to stop these brutal crimes and provide safe humanitarian and relief corridors.

    “We congratulate you on the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, and we thank God that we have reached the month of mercy, forgiveness, and liberation from Hellfire. We ask God to make us and you among those who fast and pray during Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward.”

    Read Also: Tension as Senate meets over N3tr alleged padding of 2024 budget on Tuesday

    Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

    Nearly 31,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,500 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

     The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

  • South Africa files suit with ICJ,demanding Israel to allow aid into Gaza

    South Africa files suit with ICJ,demanding Israel to allow aid into Gaza

    South Africa has filed an urgent application with the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the devastated Gaza Strip.

    South Africa said it went back to the ICJ to request the emergency measure in light of the “widespread starvation” in the Palestinian territory, according to a statement from the court in The Hague.

    In the statement, South Africa accused Israel of “continuing egregious breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.”

    South Africa lamented that at least, 15 children died of starvation a week ago.

    In December 2023, South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice, accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention during the ongoing Gaza war.

    Read Also: The art of sabotage: Democratic Alliance’s influence in South African politics

    In an interim ruling, the UN court ordered Israel to take protective measures to prevent genocide.

    In response to increasingly harsh criticism from other countries due to the catastrophic supply situation in the Gaza Strip, Israel on Wednesday, asserted that more aid was arriving in the coastal strip than before the war began.

    Israeli government spokesman, Eylon Levy, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that: “more food trucks are entering Gaza every day than before Hamas started this war.”

    An infographic in his post said that in the past two weeks, an average of 102 food shipments arrived in the Gaza Strip every day.

    That compared to 70 trucks per day before Oct. 7, according to the post.

    Levy said many false reports were circulating that Israel was restricting the amount of aid deliveries.

    “There are no limits on the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter the Gaza Strip. I repeat: none” Levy said in a video posted on X.