With the death toll approaching 8,000, at least 2,497 Nigerians have donated more than N17 million to Palestinians ensnared in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

The gifts were made in response to a plea made on Thursday by Nigerian cleric Ahmad Gumi, who is based in Kaduna, asking people to help the Palestinian people.

Gumi started the fundraising campaign with a N50,000 donation.

 

The imam of the Sultan Bello mosque in Kaduna, Muhammad Suleiman, reports that N17,959,806 was raised in response to the call for humanitarian aid for the Palestinian people.

 

“The aforementioned amount was raised in seven days following the appeal fund through the Sheikh Abubakar Gumi Mosque Foundation and Dr. Ahmad Gumi Student’s Forum Account.

 

“At least 2,497 Nigerians donated to the appeal fund’s account with the least donor sending in N50 and a maximum donation of N100,000.

 

“The aim is to help the victims of the war which includes Children and the weak in Gaza, this is what we can offer to them after prayer”, Suleiman said, adding that the amount will be donated through the Red Crescent to victims of the war in Gaza.

 

Meanwhile, over 8,000 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of another day of unrelenting airstrikes, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning that the “next stage of war” has begun.

 

Over 3,000 children have been killed, with humanitarian organisations increasing calls for a cease-fire.

 

In a televised address to the nation on Saturday night, Netanyahu said the military had launched a “second stage” in the war against Hamas by sending ground forces into Gaza and expanding air, ground, and sea attacks.

 

He stated the war as a struggle for his country’s survival, warning that the assault would only intensify ahead of a broad ground invasion into the territory.

 

“There are moments in which a nation faces two possibilities: to do or die,” Netanyahu said. “We now face that test and I have no doubt how it will end: We will be the victors. We will do and we will be the victors.”

Netanyahu added that Israel is determined to bring back all the hostages, and maintained that the expanding ground operation “will help us in this mission.”

 

He said he couldn’t reveal everything that was being done due to the sensitivity and secrecy of the efforts.

 

He did not respond to calls for a cease-fire, but in a speech peppered with references to centuries of Jewish history and military conflicts, he made it clear that Israel’s future is dependent on its ability to defeat “enemy” forces.