By AFP and TOI STAFF
War erupted with Hamas’s October 7 massacre, which saw some 3,000 terrorists burst across the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and seizing over 240 hostages under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities. The vast majority of those killed and abducted as gunmen seized border communities were civilians — including babies, children and the elderly. Entire families were executed in their homes and over 260 people were slaughtered at an outdoor festival, many amid horrific acts of brutality by the terrorists.
Israel declared its intention to topple the Hamas regime, and launched an air campaign, and later a ground offensive, saying it was targeting terrorist infrastructure while taking steps to minimize civilian casualties.
In Gaza, more than 11,500 people have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive since, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Those figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.
Pretoria has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ANC — the party of late president Nelson Mandela — often linking it to its struggle against apartheid.
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