President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a stop to “acts of war” from Israel and Palestine, and is urging the reopening of humanitarian corridors, as Palestinian civilians face the brunt of Israeli retaliation, following an attack by Hamas.

Ramaphosa pointed out that in armed conflicts, civilians are affected most.

“The sheer scale of human suffering is a grim reminder that it is civilians who bear the brunt in armed conflict and who pay the heaviest price. We stand firm against violence directed at civilians; against the killing of children, the elderly, the infirm and non-combatants; against the targeting of critical infrastructure such as hospitals; and against the collective punishment of civilian populations,” he said.

While he acknowledged the trauma felt on both sides of the conflict, Ramaphosa stressed the importance of resolving the conflict through a United Nations-led peace process.

He also emphasised the need for a two-State solution to end the conflict, which has been raging on for over 75 years.

Ramaphosa pointed to South Africa’s apartheid past and the hard won reconciliation and peace achieved, which he said was possible for Israel and Palestine if there was "demonstrable political will".

“Without justice, there can be no peace. The cycle of violence that has been unleashed is the tragic outcome of decades of unmet and unfulfilled possibilities to peacefully solve the problem between Israelis and Palestinians. The international community has a responsibility to support peace and to create favourable conditions for negotiation and dialogue, and not to fan the flames of conflict. World leaders need to, and must, make a call for peace and not vengeance,” he stated.

The US, France and the UK have all stated strong support for Israel, which has cut off Palestine’s access to food, water, power and medical supplies and which has forced half of the Palestinian population to move South of the Gaza strip owing to planned attacks in the North.

Ramaphosa stood firm that the deprivation of essential goods and services was prohibited under international law.

“The wanton attack on civilians in Israel and the siege of Gaza and the decision to forcibly expel a population of over one-million people from Gaza, together with the indiscriminate use of force, lays the basis for further suffering and death on a huge scale. Acts of collective punishment like cutting electricity, food, water, medical and other essential supplies to civilian populations are abhorrent, as is the deliberate destruction of people’s homes,” he said.

The rights of the oppressed and the right to use arms as a means of defence must be done within the bounds of the Geneva Conventions, Ramaphosa appealed.

“The images of the killing of civilians in Israel by Hamas just over a week ago and the ongoing killing of civilians in Gaza by Israeli forces goes against the tenets of international law, which prohibits the targeting of non-combatants, especially women, the aged and children,” he noted.

He called on Israel and Palestine to “come together” to reconcile but also insisted that Palestinian’s human rights, dignity and nationhood must be fulfilled for there to be lasting peace.