Johnathan Paoli
THE Department of International Relations and Cooperation has confirmed that nineteen South Africans who have been evacuated from the war-torn city of Gaza are set to arrive at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela said that the group managed to flee Gaza and cross safely to Egypt on Monday, and thanked the Egyptian government for facilitating the safe transport of the citizens.
Monyela said that the evacuated South Africans, comprising six males and 13 females, have arrived safely in Cairo and are en-route to South Africa.
He reiterated South Africa’s call for an end to the hostilities that have resulted in the deaths of more than 15 000 Palestinians and the displacement of more than a million families.
“South Africa calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the resumption of talks that will end the violence arising from the continued belligerent occupation and lays the basis for a just and lasting solution,” Monyela said.
The spokesperson said that statements from Israeli leaders appeared impervious to the global calls for an immediate end to the killing of Palestinian civilians, in light of the Israeli government’s declared intention of extending its attack on the Palestinian people.
Israeli troops battled Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday after expanding their offensive deeper into the besieged territory, with warnings that an “even more hellish scenario” was unfolding for trapped civilians.
Israel had initially focused its offensive on the north of the territory, but the army is now also dropping leaflets on parts of the south, telling Palestinian civilians there to flee to other areas.
The army said on Monday that it was taking “aggressive” action against “Hamas and other terrorist organisations” in Khan Yunis, warning that the main road in the north and east of the city “constitutes a battlefield”.
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