The ambassador of Israel to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has reiterated the country’s gratitude to President Donald Trump for facilitating the safe return of Israeli hostages from Gaza and advancing peace in the Middle East.

Mr Freeman said this in Abuja, during an event marking two years since the October 7 attack in Israel, when hundreds of civilians were killed and others taken hostage by Hamas in an assault that sparked a protracted conflict.

He observed the attack marked darkest day in modern Israeli and Jewish history, saying thousands of Hamas terrorists poured across Israel’s border, murdering entire families in their homes, raping women, torturing children, and burning people alive.

”I must express our thanks to President Trump for his steadfast support, courage in recognising truths others ignored, and his unique efforts in bringing our hostages home and helping to finally end this war.

“We must look forward. Our prayer is that out of this darkness, a better future may yet emerge, not only for Israelis, but for Palestinians, for our region, and for the world.

“A future where children grow up, not under shadow of rockets or grip of terror, but under light of peace. May the souls of the victims be bound in the bond of life. May their memory be a blessing. May we, the living, ensure that their sacrifice strengthens our resolve to defend truth, justice, and the right of the Jewish people to live free in their ancestral homeland,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to nations that stood by Israel, particularly friends of the country across the world. The ambassador further expressed sympathy for the innocent Palestinians who have lost their lives in the war.

This, according to him, is a war Israel never wanted, a war Israel never started, a war that was forced upon Israelis, adding we grieve for every innocent soul

“We value life all life. Israel is built on courage, on faith, on history. We are not foreigners in Israel, we did not colonize the land of Israel; we returned to it. Jews have lived in Jerusalem, Tiberias, Hebron, Tsfat and every part of our land for over 3,000 years.

“Through exile and dispersion, we prayed toward Jerusalem, and we remembered Jeruslam at every wedding, every festival, and at everydinner table.

“We revived our language, planted forests, gathered exiles, welcomed survivors, and built a modern technology-based economy in a nation reborn. Israel was not created because of the Holocaust. It was created in spite of it. Today, ‘Never Again’ is not just a slogan. It is the Iron Dome that protects children in Sderot.

“It is the Israeli pilotin the sky. It is the 18-year-old girl in olive uniform, standing guard so that our children can sleep at night,” he said.

(NAN)