South Africa has expressed outrage by reports confirming that at least 31 Palestinians were killed and over 200 injured on Sunday, near an aid distribution point in Rafah, Southern Gaza.
According to eyewitnesses and medical personnel, the incident happened after Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of desperate civilians seeking to access humanitarian aid.
The Gaza health ministry revealed that most of the victims were shot in the head and chest.
“This atrocity is a stark reminder of the catastrophic and dire conditions under bombardment and siege in Gaza, where access to food and essential aid remains perilous and has become a matter of life and death.
South Africa joins the global call for an immediate, impartial international investigation and reiterate that Israel, as the occupying power, bears legal responsibility under international humanitarian law for the protection of civilians and to ensure safe access to aid.
The targeting, killing and injuring of vulnerable civilians are in grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and incompatible with the principles of international humanitarian law and, accordingly, demand urgent scrutiny,” read a statement from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation.
The tragedy unfolded during the controversial US-backed “Gaza Humanitarian Foundation” (GHF) which is a private initiative that entrusts the distribution of aid to military personnel rather than impartial humanitarian actors.
South Africa and other countries have lambasted the scheme, calling it a violation of international law.
“This scheme is fundamentally at odds with the core principles of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, which mandate that humanitarian relief operations must observe the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.
We condemn, the deliberate marginalisation of established aid agencies, most notably the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has served as the primary agency responsible for the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees for over 75 years,” explained the statement.
Pretoria’s outrage come after the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned of an imminent risk of famine, highlighting that one in five Gazans is likely to face starvation in the coming weeks.
“South Africa further recalls that the International Court of Justice in its ongoing case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against Israel, has issued three rounds of binding provisional measures aimed at halting irreparable harm to the Palestinian population.
These have included specific instructions for the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid, all of which have been flagrantly defied by Israeli authorities,” said the statement.
The department stressed that what transpired in Gaza (on Sunday) is not a tragic anomaly, but however “a direct consequence of the ongoing bombardment, siege, occupation and collective punishment of Gaza’s people.”
