- Raises Alarm over Impending Famine, Humanitarian Catastrophe
By Olukayode Idowu
No fewer than 29,878 people have been killed in the ongoing Israeli -Palestinian war, the Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh has decried.
The envoy who expressed concern over possible famine and outbreak of epidemics in Gaza, told Diplomatic Correspondents over the weekend in Abuja, that 70,215 people have been injured and around 8,000 people still missing under the rubble since the 7 October 2023 siege on Gaza by the Israeli military began.
He said: “As of yesterday, the death toll in the Gaza Strip was 29,878 martyrs, with 70,215 injuries and around 8,000 people still missing under the rubble.
“The Ministry of Education declared that in the last 144 days, 5427 students were martyred, 5379 in Gaza and 48 in the OWB, while 9193 were injured, 8888 in Gaza and 305 in the occupied West Bank, (OWB), 97 was arrested in the OWB, including East Jerusalem. 255 teachers and administrative staff were martyred and 891 were injured in the Gaza strip.
“286 government schools and 65 UN schools were subjected to bombardments and sabotage, with 40 of them completely destroyed in Gaza, while 57 schools in the OWB were attacked and sabotaged by the IOF. 620,000 students in Gaza are still deprived of the right to learn, while the majority of students are suffering from trauma and facing devastating health situations.”
He alleged that Israel’s authorities have hidden agenda, which is to make Gaza inhabitants uncomfortable living in their homeland.
He said, “The clear policy is to make Gaza an unlivable place after the war, so that even if the inhabitants are not forced to leave under the fire, they will do so voluntarily due to the lack of hospitals, schools, universities, drinkable water, and other basic necessities for human life.”
The envoy also alleged that within last 144 days, “more than 7270 in the OWB, 228 women, 460 children, 56 of journalists and issued more than 3,800 administrative detention orders.”
He also added, “Eleven of the detainees martyred in the Israeli prisons due to the torture and ill treatment. All this is only from the OWB including East Jerusalem.
“There is no specific number or information about the detention cases of Gaza and Israel is still hiding all the information about them.”
The total number of the Palestinian prisoners on the Israel detention camps is now around 9000 including 3484 administrative detainees.
He equally alleged that more than 200 fanatic Israeli settlers stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque guarded by the occupation force where they performed Talmudic ritual, insisting that meanwhile, the occupation authorities continue to impose restrictions on the Muslim worshiper’s entry to Al-Aqsa preventing all the young men and boys from entering while subjecting all others to be extensively checks.
He added that: “We still insist that the Israeli fanatic and messianic regime is spared no efforts igniting a religious war that if erupted will spare no one.”
