Dirco: Killing of children in Gaza violence ‘must urgently be addressed’
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation says there can be no justification for the killing of innocent civilians, as the death toll from violence in Gaza rose to 29.
The health ministry in the Palestinian enclave says the death toll includes six children. .
It also said that 253 people in Gaza had been wounded since the hostilities with Israel broke out on Friday.
The violence is the worst in Gaza since a war last year that devastated the impoverished territory home to some 2.3 million Palestinians and forced countless Israelis to seek shelter from rockets.
Israel has said it was necessary to launch a "preemptive" operation against Islamic Jihad, as the group had been planning an imminent attack following days of tensions along the border with Gaza.
"It is of particular grave concern that Israeli military statements indicate that the operation would 'take a long time' and that the ongoing attacks continue to place innocent civilians at severe risk," says Dirco’s spokesperson Clayson Monyela.
"Attacks that kill innocent civilians have no justification, and they are more abhorrent as they are committed by an occupying power which has besieged the Gaza Strip for over a decade in contravention of international law.
"As an occupying power, Israel has specific obligations in terms of international human rights and humanitarian law, which it continues to breach without being held accountable.
"The killing of children by the Israeli government must urgently be addressed.”
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