The death toll in the Israel-Palestine war continued to climb on Wednesday, four days after Hamas launched an attack on Israel from the tiny Gaza Strip.
The brutal attack has claimed more than 1,200 lives in Israel, including over 250 people who attended a music festival, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.
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Some 22 Americans were also reportedly killed in Israel.
Al Jazeera reports that the Gaza Ministry of Health said Wednesday that at least 1,100 people, including at least 326 children, have been killed in the Gaza Strip by Israel’s retaliatory strikes.
It added that at least 5,339 more there have been wounded.
This is as the French police have banned protests in solidarity with Palestinians.
Two demonstrations in solidarity with Palestine—one organised by the Association France Palestine Solidarite, the other by the Collectif National Paix Juste Durable Palestine —were set to take place early on Thursday evening in Paris.
The ban on the protests was implemented “taking into account the risk of disturbance to public order”, the Paris police prefecture reportedly told AFP.
A protest in France’s second city of Lyon scheduled for Wednesday evening has also been banned by local police.
In a related development, UK’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman said waving the Palestinian flag and shouting chants calling for the freedom of Palestine could be deemed a criminal offence.
She stated this a day after thousands of people gathered at a pro-Palestine demonstration in London.
Meanwhile, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has urged the government and citizens not to allow the ongoing Isreal-Palestine conflict spill into Nigeria.
President of CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja expressed concerns about the war that has resulted in the loss of countless lives, destruction of infrastructure, and deepened the humanitarian crisis in the region.
“CAN firmly condemns any act of violence that threatens the lives of innocent individuals, regardless of their nationality or religious background. While recognizing Israel’s right to self-defense, we emphasize the importance of proportionality and the avoidance of harm to innocent civilians in any military response.
“The loss of innocent lives on both sides of the conflict is a tragic consequence of this escalating situation, and we extend our deepest condolences to all those who have suffered the loss of their loved ones in these incidents,”
“The ongoing conflict in the region raises concerns about the safety and well-being of Nigerian pilgrims. Therefore, we advise that the airlifting of pilgrims be suspended until normalcy returns in the area,” Okoh said.
