Palestinians have vowed to fight to the last drop of their blood.
This comes after Israel has called for all civilians in northern Gaza to relocate to the south as it prepares for a ground assault.
The United Nations says evacuating everyone is impossible, with power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short.
As the situation continues to worsen in Gaza, the South African government says an announcement by Israel giving 1.1 million people 24 hours to leave northern Gaza will lead to further catastrophe since there are not enough resources to assist evacuees.
Palestine Ambassador in South Africa Hanan Jaarar says they are facing a tragic situation.
“As far as Israel’s admission that they dropped more than 6 000 bombs in Gaza alone. We are talking about 300 km square and killing more than 17 000 Palestinians. More than 400 000 Palestinians have been displaced from their homes, sheltering in schools, they have no electricity, no food and no water, who issued an appeal warning about catastrophe in the health sector if there is no peaceful corridor to be opened.”
Palestinian Ambassador to South Africa says the situation continues to worsen in Gaza
But Israeli authorities have defended their position as the conflict escalates.
Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Lior Haiat says, “It was a war that was forced on us by brutal and inhuman terror organisation since Saturday. We have seen immense support from the international community in different ways with heads of state, prime ministers and foreign affairs ministers, they have condemned terror and they talk about the right of Israel to defend itself.”
The South African government is also following on the confirmation that some locals were killed in attacks by Hamas into southern Israel at the weekend.
International Relations spokesperson Clayson Monyela says, “We have been notified that two South Africans have died in this ongoing conflict between Palestine and Israel. The verification process is under way because one of the individuals is reported to have Israeli ID number and we need to determine if there’s dual citizenship. On behalf of the South African government, we would like to extend our condolences to the families and our missions in Ramallah and Tel Aviv are rendering consular services.”
Israel-Hamas Conflict | Two South Africans confirmed killed in Mideast conflict: DIRCO
Meanwhile, both sides have touched on the contentious issue around the atrocities that were committed by Hamas.
Israel Defence Force spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner says, “When you say there’s no evidence, I find that quite interesting. They are so proud of what they did and they posted it on social media beheadings and they are proud. They took women and others who were at the party by the border and they paraded them in the streets and people were cheering all these videos are there to see.”
A ground offensive in Gaza, where a population of around two-million people is densely packed into a sliver of land only 40 kilometres long, would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting.
