By Tony Obiechina, Abuja

Even though countries have begun evacuating citizens, the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria Michael Freeman has assured Nigerians and residents of other nations living in Israel of their safety in the face of onging Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) operations against Hamas terrorists.

Freeman who gave the assurance during a press briefing at the Embassy’s office in Abuja on Tuesday, reiterated Israeli government resolve to eliminate the terrorist group.

He strongly emphasised that there was no valid justification for the horrifying attack carried out by Hamas on civilians last Saturday.

However, the Lagos State Government has already airlifted 310 pilgrims from Jerusalem to Nigeria over the crisis.

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a post on his social media accounts on Tuesday disclosed that the state government had airlifted 310 pilgrims back to Nigeria.

Sanwo-Olu thanked the Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs for airlifiting the pilgrims.

Sharing the pictures of the pilgrims, the governor stated, “Good morning Lagos, I’m happy to announce that we have successfully airlifted and returned all three hundred and ten (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.”

No fewer than 900 people have reportedly died in the attack which Israel declared to take “mighty revenge”.

The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria stated that the Israeli defence forces are determined to eradicate Hamas to prevent any potential recurrence of such attacks, not only in Israel but in any other country as well.

Freeman remarked, “Our aim is to ensure that Hamas is eliminated, thereby safeguarding Israel and other nations.”

Addressing concerns about the safety of Nigerians in Israel, Freeman assured, “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.”

The envoy stated, “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.”

He also described Saturday’s attack by Hamas as the gravest since the Holocaust.

Condemning the attack, Freeman said Hamas is a terror group that wants to wipe out the Israelis, but said Israel will terminate every one of them.

“Hamas is a terror group that has no mercy and has decided that they want to slaughter the Israelis and destroy the State of Israel.

“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,” Freeman explained.

The ambassador added that Israel has begun a war against Hamas, stating that it was not against the Palestinians, Muslims, or Arabs, but solely against Hamas.

He noted 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 stated.

In condemning Hamas’s actions, the ambassador firmly asserted, “There is no justification for Hamas to attack. They have no right to hold children and women.”

He frowned at a situation whereby Hamas’ primary headquarters are located beneath a hospital in Gaza, stressing that their primary focus is on ensuring the safety of everyone, and their strategy for achieving this goal is the elimination of Hamas.

In the midst of these challenging times, the Israeli Ambassador’s message underscores the commitment to protecting innocent lives and maintaining the safety of all individuals, including Nigerians, living in Israel

Freeman accused Iran of being the mastermind behind Hamas’ attack on Israel, claimed that Iran was funding the conflict in order to destabilise the region surrounding Israel.

“It’s a major concern for us. We know that Iran is behind these attacks by Hamas. Iran are the ones who gave permission. Iran are the ones who fund Hamas. They are doing everything in order to destabilise the region.

“They are also backing Hezbollah and Lebanon; they are backing other terror groups in the West Bank. They are backing terror groups in Syria. Iran is doing everything because they don’t want to see progress. They don’t want to see peace, they want to see death and destruction,” he added.