Des Erasmus
Nkosi Zwelivelile “Mandla” Mandela, grandson of South Africa’s deceased former president Nelson Mandela, has said that the current ceasefire in Gaza “does not alter our goal”, as global activists continue to press for an end to Israel’s blockade and the “genocide” of Palestinians.
“[A]s long as borders are controlled by a genocidal government and its backers, even basic necessities will be weaponised against Palestinians,” Mandela said in a statement issued by the Royal House of Mandela (RHoM) this week.
A US-brokered ceasefire in mid-October between Israel and Hamas has brought a temporary and tenuous halt to large-scale fighting. Under the terms, both sides agreed to pause hostilities and allow humanitarian aid deliveries through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings.
But the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and media groups including the BBC and Reuters, have reported intermittent violations from both sides, with the latest being an allegedly retaliatory air-strike by Israel on Sunday.
According to the BBC, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) accused Hamas of launching “an anti-tank missile and gunfire toward its troops in Rafah, killing two soldiers”.
Hamas said it was unaware of the attack.
Mandela said the RHoM backed the findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which were released in August.
The chair of that commission, former South African judge Navanethem ‘Navi’ Pillay, said in the report: “The Commission finds that Israel is responsible for the commission of genocide in Gaza.”
“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza through acts that meet the criteria set forth in the Genocide Convention,” Pillay found.
The war started following an attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, when Hamas – designated terrorists by several nations – launched a surprise cross-border attack on southern Israel, murdering about 1 200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, the remainder of which were released last week.
Israel responded with extensive air and ground operations in Gaza that it said were aimed at destroying Hamas’s military infrastructure. The conflict displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and left large parts of the enclave in ruins.
Mandela returned to South Africa earlier this month, along with four other South Africans, after being detained in an Israeli prison and then being deported.
He and hundreds of other international activists had been aboard a flotilla of about 40 boats sailing to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid when they were captured by Israel, which described the flotilla as “a provocation”.
Said Mandela in his statement: “The late President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela devoted his entire life to the struggle for justice and peace.
“He stood unequivocally with the oppressed people of the world and was unapologetic in his stance that the Palestinian struggle is ‘the greatest moral issue of our time’.”
Mandela said the RHoM was “committed to upholding the legacy of President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and advocating the universal values of justice, dignity and fundamental human rights. We stand unequivocally with the oppressed of the world and will stand with the Palestinian people and its legitimate resistance until freedom dawns.”
In January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – in a case brought by South Africa – ordered Israel to take measures to prevent acts of genocide but did not order an immediate ceasefire. It said South Africa had not substantiated its claim that the IDF operation in Gaza was “plausibly motivated by genocidal intent”.
Israel has rejected any genocide allegations, saying its campaign targets Hamas fighters and that civilian deaths are an unintended consequence of combat in densely populated areas, where terrorists are known to hide among civilians.
In one statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called findings of genocide “entirely based on Hamas’s campaign of lies and the laundering of those lies by others”.
The United Nations General Assembly and most member states have repeatedly called for a lasting ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access, while the United States and several European governments continue to back Israel’s right to self-defence under international law.
In September, Canada and the United Kingdom announced their formal recognition of Palestine as a state. Other European nations to do so this year include Malta, France and Luxembourg.
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