Lerato Mbhiza
Speaking on the margins of the COP28 Summit in Dubai on Saturday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “It’s most unfortunate, and I did raise it in my input that, as South Africa, we are really appalled at the continued deaths that are going on, and we see this as genocide.
“There’s a collective punishment that’s levied against Palestinians in Gaza, and we say this must stop. There was a truce, and we hoped it would hold and transform into a ceasefire where the deaths of people are stopped.”
Ramaphosa said South Africa is gravely concerned by the continuing killing of Palestinians by Israel forces and called for a permanent ceasefire while appealing to the international community to double their efforts to find a permanent solution to the Middle East crisis.
“As the government of South Africa, we continue to call for a ceasefire because we believe it will create conditions for the problem between Israel and Palestine to be resolved when they finally sit down to negotiate to establish a two-state solution.”
Ramaphosa reminded world leaders at the climate conference that they know what acting in solidarity is all about and implored them to act in solidarity and remember the suffering of the Palestinians.
“The people (Palestinians) who are now being subjected to acts of genocide where more than 16,000 people have already been killed in the most cruel fashion and where in an unprecedented way, more than 4,000 children have died and many more have war wounds inflicted on their fragile bodies.”
Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants exchanged fire across the Israel-Lebanon border on Saturday in the second day of hostilities after the collapse of a truce in Gaza between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel.
Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement that one of its fighters was killed but did not specify when. Three people in south Lebanon were killed by Israeli shelling on Friday in south Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s state news agency. Hezbollah said two of the dead were its fighters.
The Israeli military said it carried out shelling near Naqoura after spotting “unusual activity” in the area.
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