The South African government has condemned the massacre of 112 Palestinians and the injury of hundreds more as they sought life-saving aid at the Gaza City.
Government accused the Israeli forces of firing on hundreds of Palestinian civilians already vulnerable due to the onslaught on Palestinians over the last four months.
According to Palestinian authorities, the victims had gathered to collect flour while the Israeli soldiers.
“This attack comes just days after Israel submitted a report to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and to which South Africa is preparing a response to.
This latest atrocity is another breach of international law and in breach of the binding provisional orders of the ICJ.
Legal remedies are one route to end institutionalised impunity that Israel has enjoyed for decades, which has emboldened them to act in the manner they have been doing on Thursday, 29 February 2024 and for decades before that,” read a statement for the Department of international Relations and Cooperation.
The statement added that legal remedies are not sufficient though and the international community must now consider other measures to end the unlawful actions of the Israeli government, and that an immediate and unconditional call for a ceasefire is now a moral and life-saving necessity.
There has been a global condemnation of the killings, with the United Nations, France, Britain, and other countries calling for an independent inquiry into the incident.
“The Secretary-General condemns the incident today in northern Gaza in which more than a hundred people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid,” said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Meanwhile, the Gaza healthy ministry said the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli strikes since 7 October 2023 has risen to 30 320.
Another 71 533 people have been injured since the start of the war, and an unknown number of people lie under the rubble.
