President William Ruto on Saturday, October 7, joined other world leaders in condemning the Hamas incursion into Israel.
In a statement seen by the Kenya Times, the Head of State termed the incursion as an act of terrorism and conveyed his condolences to the affected families.
Further, Ruto affirmed Kenya’s support for Israel noting that there was no justification for the surprise attack meted on Israeli nationals.
According to him, the violence witnessed in Israel poses a threat to international peace and security. As such, he urged the international community to move swiftly in taking action against the perpetrators of the violence.
“The international community must mobilize to bring the perpetrators, organizers, financiers, sponsors, supporters and enablers of these reprehensible criminal acts of terrorism to account and speedily bring them to justice,” the President noted.
In addition, the President expressed his concerns over the continued suffering of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Ruto calls for ceasefire
In the statement, Ruto asked the two parties to respect the rights of civilians as provided for under international law.
He went on to ask the warring parties to work towards deescalating their hostilities and instead consider peaceful resolution of their differences.
“Finally, we take this opportunity to reiterate our firm stand in solidarity with all those calling on the parties to desist from further attacks, promptly effect cease-fire and embark on a path towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” he added.
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His statement came after a similar statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning the violence.
A host of leaders across the world also condemned the Saturday attacks, with a majority affirming their solidarity with Israel.
In a statement, United States President Joe Biden affirmed the country’s support for Israel and expressed his condolences.
In his statement, Biden noted that Israel has a right to defend itself and cautioned countries against taking advantage of the incursion to advance selfish interests.
“This is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. My Administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering,” Biden asserted.
On its part, Russia in a statement delivered by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked Israel and Palestine to cease fire and instead work towards resolving the conflict in liaison with the international community.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni also reacted to the conflict noting, “The breakout of renewed violence in Israel- Palestine is regrettable. Why don’t the two sides implement the two States’ Solution?”
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Surprise attack on Saturday
On Saturday, fighters under the Hamas group launched a surprise attack on Israeli’s soldiers and civilians in an incursion reported to have left scores killed and dozens held hostage.
In videos shared from the fighting front, armed fighters overran barriers erected along the Israeli border and launched multiple rocket and gun attacks.
In retaliation to the attack, Israel vowed to launch attacks “with all its strength” against the perpetrators.
“The IDF will immediately use all its strength to destroy Hamas’s capabilities. We will destroy them and will forcefully avenge this dark day that they have forced on Israel and its citizens,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted.
“As Bialik wrote, Revenge for the blood of a little child has yet been devised by Satan”.
