The Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah M. Abu Shawesh, has raised the alarm that about 17,000 children have been orphaned as a result of the ongoing assault on Gaza by Israel.
Shawesh disclosed this during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.
“In the occupied Gaza Strip, about 17,000 children are being completely orphaned having no known relatives around them.
“The number of martyrs has risen to 29,410 and 69,465 wounded since the start of the aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7th.
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“Thousands of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, as the occupation army prevents ambulances and civil defence crews from reaching them,” he said.
Quoting the Gaza Municipality, he lamented that the Israeli army had destroyed 42,000 meters of water pipes, 40 wells and nine water tanks, adding that about one million square meters of roads had also been destroyed.
The Palestinian Ambassador condemned the US for its double standard, saying that while noting that Israel’s response to the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas was over the edge, it still went ahead to veto the Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.
This marks the third time the US has vetoed such a resolution.
He condemned the US move, accusing it of giving additional green light to Israel to continue its “genocidal war”.
He stressed that this policy makes the United States a partner in the crime of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including Jerusalem.
The war started when Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on October 7 that left about 1,160 people dead in southern Israel, mostly civilians, according to official Israeli figures.
Over 29,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Israel military operation in Gaza, the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory says.
Hamas also took about 250 hostages – 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 30 presumed dead, according to Israel.
Israel has warned that, unless Hamas frees all hostages, it will push on with its offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, including in Rafah.
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