Kenyans Express Safety Concerns Amid World War 3 Fears, Following Iran’s Missile Attack on Israel
Key takeaways
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- The world watched in horror as tens of missiles landed and exploded inside Israel’s territory Tuesday evening.
- Striking just after 8 PM Israel local time, the Iranian hypersonic missiles are feared to have caused serious damage despite Israel’s impressive air defense system.
- The Tuesday night events have been widely termed as a major escalation of the Middle Eastern conflict and could potentially lead to a full-scale war.
- Kenyans have voiced concerns about the safety of their country and the broader African continent if the conflict spreads to the region.
- Their fears arise from Kenya’s and Africa’s inadequate defense systems, which may not be able to thwart lethal attacks like those occurring in the Middle East.
Also read: Kenyans Back on the Streets Following Activist Morara Kebaso’s Arrest
Israel hit by a barrage of Iranian missiles in the ongoing conflict over Palestine territory
Israel has been for decades involved in a territorial conflict that has caused dangerous engagements with Palestinian resistance groups.
At the center of the conflict are the fiercely contested Gaza Strip, West Bank, and East Jerusalem areas that have seen intense confrontations between Hamas and Israel.
Israel has laid claim on all three territories having established Jewish settlements in the West Bank area.
On the other side, the Palestinian Hamas movement also claims these territories maintaining that Israel has illegally occupied them.
Through its military formations, Hamas has engaged Israel in the past decades in an attempt to flush them out of the disputed lands.
Hamas progressively won the support of Lebanon-based Hizballah and by extension the Iranian government which has supported its cause.
Apart from Iran, the conflict has also drawn the attention of other powerful players including the United States, which has continuously advocated for Israel’s right to defend itself.
In the course of the conflict, Israel has executed operations against Iran with the recent one being the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Iran has retaliated by hitting Israel’s Tel Aviv city among other areas with hypersonic missiles in an operation code-named ‘Operation True Promise II’
Kenyans express concerns about the country’s position in the Israel-Iran conflict
In the aftermath of a Hamas attack on Israel in October last year, Kenya through President William Ruto condemned the attack.
Describing the attack as a terrorist act, President Ruto stated that Kenya stands in solidarity with the State of Israel.
“Kenya joins the rest of the world in solidarity with the State of Israel and unequivocally condemns terrorism and attacks on innocent civilians in the country. The people of Kenya and their government express their deepest sympathy and send condolences to the families of all victims,” Ruto said in a statement.
The president’s statement was dismissed by many Kenyan citizens who believed that siding with either side could draw Kenya into the conflict.
Subsequent statements from other African governments and the African Union seemed to contradict Kenya’s position, advocating for a ceasefire and urging an end to the damage on both sides.
While Kenya changed and adopted a neutral stance, it recently abstained from a United Nations vote seeking to end Israel’s unlawful presence in Gaza.
A section of Kenyans believe that Kenya’s stand on the Palestinian conflict and its recent designation as a major non-North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) U.S. ally (MNNA) could make Kenya a target of foreign aggression.
Kenyans on X have cast doubts on the country’s defense capabilities should pro-Palestine formations expand their target scope to Kenya in a speculative World War 3 scenario.
The fears stem from the recent Iranian attack where hypersonic missiles bypassed Israel’s advanced “Iron Dome” defense system, highlighting that Kenya lacks similar technology or safety bunkers.
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