South Africa emphasises need for UN force to protect civilians in Gaza

The South African government has repeated its call for protection against civilians in Gaza as the war in the region takes a heavy toll on innocent children and women. Pretoria further condemned Israel for violating international laws through its reckless actions, including illegal occupation…

The South African government has again called on the United Nations to deploy a rapid protection force to protect the civilian population in Gaza from further bombardment by Israel.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a strongly worded statement that “All countries genuinely committed to a rules-based system underpinned by international law must act immediately.”
Pretoria further called on the global community to hold Israel accountable for violating international law.

It also condemned the number of innocent children killed who were violently killed in the raging conflict.

The statement added that the number of deaths in Gaza is a direct action of Israel’s illegal activities against the people of Gaza, including occupation.

Earlier, the Israeli army announced that it has increased its air and ground attacks on Gaza, which has been subjected to a barrage of bombings since the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise invasion on Oct. 7. More than 1,538 Israelis were killed in Hamas strikes.

The Palestinian death toll from Israeli offensives in Gaza has risen to 8,306, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

There were 3,457 children and 2,136 women killed, while more than 21,048 individuals were injured, according to an official report.