Governor Nyong'o condemns onslaught in Gaza, urges AU to cut diplomatic ties with Israel

Governor Nyong'o condemns onslaught in Gaza, urges AU to cut diplomatic ties with Israel

The Kisumu Governor has urged the African Union to call upon all its member countries to immediately break diplomatic relations with Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong'o has strongly condemned Israel's continued onslaught in Gaza, warning of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.

Nyong'o, who is also the United Nations advisor on local and regional governments, said the conflict between Israel and Palestine has had a ripple effect on many countries across the world.

"It is now clear that Zionist Israel, much against the interest of all progressive forces in the Arab world and Israel herself, is planning a major bloody invasion of Gaza and the West Bank sooner rather than later," Anyang' said in a strongly worded statement on Tuesday.

The governor further urged the African Union to call upon all its member governments to immediately break diplomatic relations with Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

"Progressive forces in Africa, led by the African Union cannot stand by and let this happen," Anyang' said.

UN warning

Anyang's statement comes hours after the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned Monday that its operations in Gaza would shut down within two days due to fuel shortages as fighting rages between Israel and Hamas.

A man heats a cooking pot on a fire outside one of the tents pitched by Palestinians taking shelter from Israeli bombardment around Nasser Hospital, in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on 14 November 2023. (Photo: Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

"The humanitarian operation in Gaza will grind to a halt in the next 48 hours as no fuel is allowed to enter Gaza. No fuel has entered Gaza since October 7," UNRWA's Gaza chief Thomas White wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Aid agencies have repeatedly raised the alarm about the lack of fuel - used to power vital services such as hospitals which rely on generators, and for purifying and pumping drinking water.

White said trucking contractors transporting drinking water and other supplies from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt were now running on empty.

The Head of OCHA’s office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Andrea De Domenico on Monday said “lives are hanging by a thread”, including those of babies in incubators at hospitals in Gaza that depend on fuel for electricity,

“Humanitarian ceasefire, fuel supplies – all of these should be happening now. We are running out of time before really facing major disaster,” he said.

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