South Africa calls on Israel to end its “genocidal aggression” in Gaza

JOHANNESBURG

South Africa on Saturday condemned Israel’s “heinous massacres” in Gaza on Friday, which killed around 100 Palestinians.

“South Africa calls on Israel to end its genocidal aggression, forced displacement and starvation of the Palestinian people as a method of war in the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Office said.

Pretoria said that in one of the massacres, 75 Palestinians from two families were killed in airstrikes on two houses in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahia.

“Israel prevented ambulances and rescue teams from reaching the scene of the massacre and barred journalists from entering for hours,” the statement said.

The head of the intensive care unit at Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Ahmad Kahlut, was also killed in Israeli strikes in northern Gaza.

Pretoria said hunger and suffering among Palestinians had reached “catastrophic” levels, according to Gaza authorities.

The South African government also called on the UN Security Council to ensure the immediate and urgent entry of humanitarian aid into all parts of the Gaza Strip in accordance with Resolution 2735.

Israel launched a genocidal war in the Gaza Strip last October, killing more than 44,300 people, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 105,000.

The second year of genocide in Gaza has drawn growing international condemnation, with officials and institutions labeling the attacks and blockade of aid supplies as a deliberate attempt to destroy a population.

On November 21, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its deadly war on Gaza.

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