South African President Cyril Ramaphosa chaired an extraordinary BRICS summit on Tuesday, November 21, condemning Israel’s war crimes and “genocide” in Gaza.
The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians by Israel’s illegal use of force is a war crime,” Ramaphosa said. The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians by Israel’s illegal use of force is a war crime, and the deliberate refusal to provide medicine, fuel, food, and water to Gaza residents amounts to genocide,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa made the comments during a virtual meeting of the BRICS, a group of major emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, aimed at developing a common response to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The conflict erupted on October 7, when Hamas militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in a cross-border attack, the worst death toll in Israel’s history.
In retaliation, Israel launched a relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
According to Hamas, more than 13,300 people have been killed in the war, several thousand of them children.
On Tuesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said a cease-fire agreement with Israel was imminent, adding that Qatar, the mediator, was “at the closest point” to an agreement, with negotiations to release hostages held by Palestinian Islamist groups.
Ramaphosa called for “an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire” and the deployment of “UN forces to monitor the cessation of hostilities and protect civilians.”
As individual nations, we have expressed grave concern over the death and destruction in Gaza.
Let this conference be a call to combine our efforts and intensify our action to end this historic injustice.”
