South Africa said it has “noted with appreciation” the recently announced ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with Portfolio Committee on International Relations chairperson Supra Mahumapelo calling it “a relief” that will hopefully bring about “normalcy” in the Gaza Strip.

Israel and Hamas have agreed a deal which will halt the war in Gaza and see the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a deal to return hostages held in the Gaza Strip had been reached. Israel is expected to release about 1 000 Palestinian prisoners, some jailed for years, in return for the hostages.

The agreement is set to last 42 days. Negotiations for the second phase are scheduled to start on the 16th day.

“South Africa is vindicated once more; it gives great pleasure to realise that even Israel herself was not convinced about the correctness of indiscriminate genocidal attacks that affected so many children, women and other vulnerable groups in that region,” said Mahumapelo.

He pointed out that although this had come at significant human cost to Palestinians, “South Africa is happy”.

“We call on the international community to come to Gaza and begin to help Palestinians reconstruct their lives. This bout of aggression against civilians has never been seen anywhere possibly in history,” he stated.

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) said immediate and massive humanitarian aid was urgently needed to provide relief to civilians in Gaza.

“All obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid must be lifted immediately and unconditionally, allowing civilians unrestricted access to essential food, water, shelter, and healthcare,” it said.

Dirco called for the implementation of a “just and lasting peace”, highlighting the human rights of Palestinians and that Israelis are “protected and promoted”.

It noted that the ceasefire agreement was a crucial first step toward ending the severe humanitarian crisis faced by the 2.3-million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) deemed to be plausibly genocidal.

“The ceasefire must lay the basis for a just peace which should include the establishment of a contiguous, independent, and viable Palestinian State. Palestinian sovereignty and territorial integrity must be upheld. It is imperative that no land is annexed in either Gaza or the West Bank following the ceasefire, and that illegal settlement expansion is halted,” it said.

Dirco pointed out that in accordance with the successive rulings of the ICJ, the provisional measures prescribed by the ICJ must be adhered to by the occupying power.

International law and humanitarian law must be respected and upheld, it added.

SUSTAINABLE SECURITY

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party highlighted that stopping the violence, freeing hostages and political prisoners, and facilitating humanitarian aid, without addressing the broader injustices of Israeli apartheid, illegal land occupations, and infrastructure destruction and genocide in Gaza, would not provide sustainable security for the people of Israel or Palestine.

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said sustainable peace required the equal dignity and human rights of Israelis and Palestinians to be upheld, Gaza to be re-built, and a viable independent Palestinian State to be created.

“…it requires the generational hatred and despair fuelled by the past 15 months of terror and inhumanity to be acknowledged for it to be addressed. Justice and morality demand that those who invested in the destruction of Gaza, including Israel and its arms suppliers, pay for its repair,” he added.

The party said it was hopeful that the ICJ judgment would provide clear direction on accountability and the reconstruction of Gaza.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said while the agreement steps offer a glimpse of hope, it does not erase the “catastrophic destruction” inflicted on Gaza or the “genocidal intent” behind Israel's actions.

“The indiscriminate destruction of Gaza's hospitals, schools, universities, and places of worship reveals the genocidal intent of Israel's occupation. The aim is clear: to erase Palestinian history, identity, and existence from their ancestral land,” the party said.

The EFF said it continued to “categorically reject the framing the Palestinians’ struggle as terrorism” and instead recognised it as a battle for freedom against a colonial occupation that had endured for too long.

The EFF wants the warrant for Netanyahu's arrest, issued by the International Criminal Court, to remain enforceable, and said South Africa must lead by example by fully implementing the resolutions of the sixth National Assembly.

“…this includes the expulsion of the Israeli Embassy and the severing of all diplomatic ties with Israel,” it explained.

The EFF called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against humanity, saying, “Justice will only be achieved when the occupation ends, when Palestinians can live in peace and dignity in their homeland, and when war criminals face trial for their heinous actions.”