Pope Francis on Sunday slammed the “immoral” use of force in Lebanon and Gaza, amid ongoing Israeli strikes in both places.

“A country that acts this way with force, no matter the country, and that acts in such an excessive manner, (lends itself to) immoral actions,” said Francis when asked about the consequences of Israeli airstrikes on civilians aboard a flight back to Rome from Belgium.

“Defence must always be proportional to the attack. When this is not the case, a dominating tendency appears that goes beyond morality,” the 87-year-old pontiff said in Italian.

“Even in war there is a morality to defend. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate a form of morality,” Francis said.

AFP

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has described the targeted killing of Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general and leader of Hezbollah, as a settling of scores with an “arch-murderer”.

On Friday, Israeli military announced that it had killed Nasrallah in an air strike.

The group said its leader “has joined his fellow martyrs”, adding that it would “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine”.

Among the victims of Friday’s air strike was Abbas Nilforoushan, the Iranian deputy commander for operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Addressing the media on the development, Netanyahu said Nasrallah “was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist”.

Netanyahu said the Hezbollah leader was a “turbocharger for the axis of evil created by Iran”.

He alleged that Nasrallah was guilty of the murder of countless Israelis, hundreds of US citizens and dozens of French nationals.

“As long as Nasrallah was alive, he would have quickly rebuilt the capabilities we took from Hezbollah,” he said.

“Therefore, I gave the directive — and Nasrallah is no longer with us.”

Netanyahu said Nasrallah’s elimination was a step forward in the drive to return Israelis — who had been forced to flee their homes because of Hezbollah’s bombardment — to the north of the country.

The prime minister also warned Iran against any attack on Israel.

Heineken Lokpobiri says Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), facilitated his appointment as minister of state for petroleum resources (oil).

Lokpobiri spoke on Saturday at an event organised in honour of Wike by the Ijaw Peoples Congress (IPC) in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital.

“It is important to tell you my brothers and sisters that me that is standing before you today as the minister of state for petroleum resources was also made possible by Nyesom Wike,” Lokpobiri said.

“You also heard the account of the MD of the NDDC who said that the minister of the FCT played a direct role in his appointment.

“My own case could have been a more direct role. Some of you may not know. It all started in Wike’s house in Port Harcourt and it all got concluded in his house in Abuja.

“My second journey of becoming a minister started at the house of the minister in Port Harcourt and it was concluded in his house in Abuja. It is important for me to complete this history.

“Because when I was looking at the welcome address, our names were not included among those who have benefitted from his benevolence. I thought that my name, Heineken Lokpobiri, would have been included amongst those that he has helped.

“But since my name is not included, I have to complete it. I want you Ijaw people to know that we have a brother, we have a friend.

“It is always better to have a good friend than to have a bad brother. Of what use is a bad brother? It is of no use. But if you have a good friend in the case of the FCT minister, you are already blessed.

“Your excellency, the FCT minister, let me on behalf of the Ijaw people all over the world, express our gratitude to you for your show of love to Ijaw people.

“We Ijaw people are very grateful people. If you do us good, we will not pay you back with evil. So, we will always be grateful to you for what you have done for our Ijaw people. We are looking forward to you to do more for our Ijaw people.”

Lokpobiri, who hails from Bayelsa, served as minister of state for agriculture and rural development between 2015 to 2019 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

He was appointed minister of state for petroleum resources by President Bola Tinubu in August 2023 — the same time Wike was named FCT minister.