The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has expressed concern over the deaths of 31 Palestinians and the injuries of more than 200 individuals on Sunday, 1 June 2025, near an aid distribution point in Rafah, southern Gaza.
“Eyewitnesses and medical personnel attest that Israeli forces opened fire on crowds of desperate civilians seeking to access humanitarian aid. According to the Health Ministry, many victims were shot in the head and chest,” the department said in a statement.
The department viewed this “atrocity” as a “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 reiterates 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 department said targeting, killing, and injuring vulnerable civilians constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and are incompatible with international humanitarian law, thereby demanding urgent scrutiny.
Meanwhile, the department said the tragedy has further intensified scrutiny of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
“South Africa further joins calls against the GHF, a private initiative that entrusts the distribution of aid to military personnel rather than impartial humanitarian actors.”
The department has condemned the intentional marginalisation of established aid agencies, particularly the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
This agency has been the primary organisation addressing the humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees for over 75 years.
“Discrediting or dismantling UNRWA’s operations – while replacing it with politicised and militarised alternatives – further entrenches a system of collective punishment and deepens the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), recognised as the world’s most authoritative source on food insecurity, has issued a warning about an imminent risk of famine.
According to the department, it is projected that one in five residents of Gaza may face starvation in the coming weeks.
“The above statements reveal a strategy to use starvation as a weapon of war, a practice that is expressly prohibited under international humanitarian law, including under Article 54 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.
“Under no circumstances may an occupying power use siege or blockade to collectively punish a civilian population, nor may it deny humanitarian relief to protected persons.
“The amplified international voices by initiatives such as the EU’s [European Union] vote to review trade relations with Israel, the Madrid and Hague Groups, bear testimony to Israel’s continued violation of international law and its obligations under the Geneva Convention.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is currently addressing a case related to the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against Israel.
In this context, the department said the ICJ has issued three sets of binding provisional measures aimed at preventing 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.”
South Africa has called on all states, institutions and civil society across the globe to demand immediate, unconditional and sustained humanitarian access to Gaza; reinforce the mandate and funding of UNRWA and other neutral aid organisations; hold Israel legally accountable for its violations of international law, including through the ICJ, ICC, and domestic jurisdictions exercising universal jurisdiction; and take concrete steps to end the blockade, protect civilians and restore the rule of international law in Gaza.
“What transpired in Gaza today is not a tragic anomaly – it is a direct consequence of the ongoing bombardment, siege, occupation and collective punishment of Gaza’s people.
“We call on the international community to amplify calls on ending the cycle of violence and the dehumanisation of a population.
“The time for moral and legal clarity is now. The international community must act decisively to prevent further loss of life and uphold the protections due to civilians under the Geneva Conventions and international law.” – SAnews.gov.za
