President Cyril Ramaphosa says it is of great concern that the Israel/Hamas truce has ended.
The President has called for a permanent ceasefire and appealed on the international community to redouble their efforts in finding a permanent solution to the Middle East question.
Ramaphosa was speaking on the margins of COP28 in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.
“As South Africa we are really appalled at the continued death going on and we see this as genocide that there is a collective punishment that is being leveled against the Palestinians in Gaza and we say this must stop. There was a truce and we would want the truce to hold to be transformed into a ceasefire.”
Meanwhile, senior Hamas leader, and former Palestinian Health Minister Basim Naim has described the strikes by Israel on the Gaza strip as the worst the area has endured since occupation.
Dr Naim is part of a delegation of senior Hamas leaders currently visiting South Africa, to mark a day of solidarity with Palestine on Sunday. This comes as fighting resumes in Gaza after the seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas. Naim says most of the people affected are children.
“We are here mainly to participate on the fifth edition of the International Solidarity with Palestine, this will start on Sunday. Yes, we have passed through a lot of suffering and pain during the occupation for 75- years but what’s happening the last 50 days of the Israeli aggression against our people in Gaza, I think it’s not easy to find words to describe it. You’re talking about carpet bombardment of the Gaza strip. Gaza strip is a tiny area, with 2.3 million Palestinians, most of them are children.”
