Lerato Mbhiza
The combined death toll from the Hamas attack on southern Israel has climbed to more than 1 100 as fighting between the two warring factions entered a third day.
Israeli troops fought to regain control of the desert around the Gaza Strip and evacuated people from the embattled border area on Monday, as the death toll from the war with Hamas kept rising.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Israel on Sunday to prepare for a “long and difficult” conflict a day after Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise assault from Gaza, firing a barrage of rockets and sending a wave of fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages.
More than 700 Israelis have been killed since Hamas launched its large-scale attack, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Monday – the country’s worst losses since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Gaza officials reported at least 413 deaths in the impoverished and blockaded enclave of 2.3 million people, which was hammered by Israeli air strikes on 800 targets ahead of what many feared may be a looming ground invasion.
Tens of thousands of Israeli forces were deployed to battle to hold out Hamas fighters in the south, where the bodies of civilians had been found on the roads and in town centres.
On Sunday the ANC called for peace and compared Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip to apartheid South Africa, saying it was unsurprising how Palestinians respond to Israel.
The ANC affirmed its solidarity with the people of Palestine, calling for the UN’s resolutions and international law to be affirmed.
The ANC National Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said in a statement the decision by Palestinian communities to respond to the brutality of the settler Israeli apartheid regime is ‘unsurprising’.
“The ANC stands with the people of occupied Palestine as it is clear that the degenerating security situation is directly linked to the unlawful Israeli occupation.
“Israel’s policy of settling its civilians in occupied Palestinian territory and displacing the local population contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law.
“The destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque is the latest international escalation of violence and conflict in the West Bank. It is yet another instalment of conflict in Israel and occupied Palestine, which has not been met with a credible response by the international”
The EFF has put out a statement calling for the safety of women, children and civilians to be prioritised.
In a statement on Sunday the chairperson of the African Union appealed to both parties to put an end to military hostilities and to return, without conditions, to the negotiating table to implement the principles of Two States living side by side, to safeguard the interests of the Palestinian people and the Israeli people.
INSIDE POLITICS
