FG Urges Ceasefire In Israel-Palestine Conflict

The Federal Government of Nigeria has asked both Israel and Palestine to reach an immediate ceasefire agreement to avert continuous loss of lives and property in the Gaza Strip.

The minister of foreign affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, said this in a statement made available to reporters yesterday.

“No lesser alternative will be acceptable. We consider an intervention on behalf of the people of Gaza a far-reaching contribution to preserving humanity and its values.

“We also reaffirm our position regarding the two-state solution as vital to ameliorating the prevailing situation,”  Tuggar said.

The minister said Nigeria condemns Israel’s continuous onslaught on defenceless Palestinians in Gaza and Rafah, killing mostly women and children.

Tuggar added that Israel’s offensive represents an unfortunate addition to the list of strikes on soft civilian targets with devastating effects that 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 from 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,” the statement reads in some parts.