The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) has said that no real and lasting peace in Israel, Palestine and the region is possible in the absence of a “just and comprehensive resolution” of the conflict.

This follows what the department calls a devastating escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Continuing the decades-long conflict, Israel declared war on Hamas, on Saturday, following an attack from Gaza that killed hundreds of Israelis and which has since seen hundreds more of Palestinian deaths in response.

Dirco has reported that South Africa and the international community seek to ensure a “lasting and durable peace that produces a viable, contiguous Palestinian State.

“UN resolutions and international law matter. The international community cannot avoid its duty to act, and together, we must shoulder the responsibility to remove obstacles to peace and any violations of international law,” the department said.

Dirco also stressed that urgent attention must be given to resolving the final status issues such as borders, the status of Jerusalem, the release of political prisoners, and the right of return.

Meanwhile, the ruling African national Congress (ANC) has also called for peace in the Gaza Strip and added that on the accounts of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, Israel is a “blatant apartheid state” that imposes privilege on Jewish Israelis' and discriminates against Palestinians.

It said South Africa’s apartheid history is occupied Palestine’s reality.

“As a result, the decision by Palestinians to respond to the brutality of the settler Israeli’s apartheid regime is unsurprising. The ANC stands with the people of occupied Palestine as it is clear that the degenerating security situation is directly linked to the unlawful Israeli occupation,” the party said.

The ANC has also called on the UN resolutions and international law matters to be affirmed and said that the international community can no longer avoid its duty to act.

The party called for peace from both parties and a peace process to enforce the two-state colution based on 1967 borders.