• Lagos government airlifts 310 pilgrims from Jerusalem
• Freeman: Nigerians in Israel safe, we’re not fighting Muslims but terrorists
• Hamas not a terrorist group, fighting a just cause – Palestinian Ambassador 

Despite repeated assurances of safety by the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria as the shelling of missiles and killings on the disputed Gaza Strip continue, the Nigeria Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC) yesterday announced that the scheduled airlift of intending pilgrims to Israel and Jordan has been suspended forthwith.    
 
Also yesterday, Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, disclosed that the state government has returned home 310 Nigerians, who participated in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Israel’s capital.
   
In a statement signed by NCPC management, the commission disclosed that the decision was made due to the security situation in Israel.
“The Commission in consultation with stakeholders has agreed to suspend the last batch of the airlift of intending Christian Pilgrims to Israel and Jordan in the meantime, following the hostilities that erupted in Southern Israel on October 7.
   
“Consequently, the Israeli Government as a safety measure had imposed a state of emergency in the State of Israel to forestall the escalation of the crisis and curb casualties and deaths. The Commission hereby reiterates that the safety of the Nigerian pilgrims remains our top priority and would not compromise the safety and wellbeing of our pilgrims,” NCPC stated.
   
Announcing the return of Lagos pilgrims to calm the nerves of worried relatives, who had been on edge since the crisis broke out on Saturday amid reports of killings and hostage takings, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the state government successfully airlifted 310 Nigerians who participated in a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They had departed Lagos on October 2.
   
Making the announcement on his X handle, he said: “I’m happy to announce that we have successfully airlifted and returned all 310 citizens who went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, Israel. I want to thank you all for your concern and I must also express my joy to our Ministry of Home Affairs for a job well done. We pray for peace in Israel, and indeed the world at large.”
   
Also, the airlifting of intending pilgrims from Lagos for a holy pilgrimage in Israel, earlier scheduled for Tuesday, has been put on hold. The Board Secretary of Lagos State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (LSCPWB), Mrs Florence Gbafe, said the decision was a result of keen observation of security situations in Israel. According to her, the Board and the NCPC will announce a new date for the airlifting of the second batch of the intending pilgrims in due course.
   
She thanked God for the safety of the first batch of pilgrims from Lagos who had already concluded their pilgrimage on Sunday, October 8, after departing on October 2. 

MEANWHILE, addressing a press conference in Abuja yesterday, Israeli ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, said Nigerians in the country, as well as citizens of other countries are safe. He described Saturday’s attack by Hamas, where almost a thousand people died in less than 24 hours, as the gravest since the Holocaust.
   
The Holocaust was the genocide of European Jews during World War II, which lasted between 1941 and 1945. It was time that Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.
   
Analysts described it as the biggest attack Hamas launched on Israel in years with many killed and hostages taken. The attack included gunmen entering Israeli towns after a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Israel said Hamas has declared war and in response, its army and air force launched strikes on Gaza with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promising harsh retaliation.
   
Describing the attack, Freeman said Hamas is a terror group that wants to wipe out the Israelis, but Israel will terminate every one of them. “These (Hamas) are a terror group that have no mercy and have decided that they want to slaughter the Israelis and destroy the State of Israel,” Freeman said.
   
“Nearly a thousand Israelis were murdered in one day. That was the gravest number of Jews killed in one day since the Holocaust. But do you know it is not only Israelis? They killed Arabs, they killed Israeli-Arabs, they killed others from different countries.”
   
The ambassador said Israel has begun a war against Hamas, stating that it was not against the Palestinians, Muslims, or Arabs, but solely against Hamas. He also said Nigerians and other nationals living in Israel are safe, as the Israeli government and troops will ensure their safety.
   
Freeman said the Israeli forces will eliminate Hamas so that there will not be a repeat of this in Israel or any other country. “There is no justification for Hamas to attack. They have no right to hold children and women. Their major headquarters is under a hospital in Gaza. We are focusing on ensuring that everybody is safe, and how we are going to do that is to eliminate Hamas,” Freeman said.
   
Speaking about the safety of Nigerians, Freeman said “Everyone is safe in Israel. Nigerians are safe. We will do everything we can to avoid civilian casualties. But the civilians will get killed, we should be prepared for that.”
   
Reacting, in the face of ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian ambassador to Nigeria, Abdallah Shawesh, has called for the application of international laws to resolve the lingering crisis between his country and Israel. Ambassador Abdullah also called on the international community to stop treating Israel as a nation above the law, stressing that there should be fair treatment of all parties.
 
The ambassador noted that lives of all individuals matter and consequently, condemned the killings that have been ongoing in both countries since last week Saturday.
 
Speaking on whether the Palestinian government was in support of Hamas group and its activities, Ambassador Abdullah answered that the group was not a terrorist organisation but fighting the course of the people to liberate their land from Israeli occupation. He held that a ceasefire agreement between the warring parties would depend on Israel, which he said, owned a comprehensive military formation with support from allies such as the United States.
 
 He stated that many women and children have been killed, medical doctors displaced and ambulances destroyed in the renewed onslaught, adding that one of the oldest churches in the world was destroyed by the Israeli force.