WATCH | SA demands action after Gaza aid turns into killing field

Palestinians

Pretoria – South Africa has strongly condemned what it described as a grave atrocity in southern Gaza after at least 31 Palestinians were killed and more than 200 injured on 1 June near an aid distribution point in Rafah on Sunday.

Reports indicated that Israeli forces opened fire at two aid distribution points in Gaza.

According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israeli tanks targeted thousands of civilians gathered for food in southern Rafah. A separate shooting later occurred near the Netzarim Corridor in Gaza City, killing another person at a similar aid site.

In a media statement issued by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on Sunday, the South African government expressed alarm over eyewitness and medical accounts that Israeli forces opened fire on civilians gathered to receive humanitarian aid.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported that many of the victims sustained gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

“This atrocity is a stark 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,” Dirco said.

It added: “South Africa joins the global call for an immediate, impartial international investigation and reiterate 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 targeting, killing and injuring of vulnerable civilians are in grave breach of the Geneva Conventions and incompatible with the principles of international humanitarian law and, accordingly, demand urgent scrutiny.”

The statement reiterated South Africa’s call for an “immediate, impartial international investigation” into the incident and stressed that Israel, as the occupying power, bears full legal responsibility under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and facilitate humanitarian access.

DIRCO also took aim at the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private initiative that delegates aid distribution to military personnel rather than neutral agencies. The department said the scheme violates the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence enshrined in the Geneva Conventions.

“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 statement said, referencing the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, which has operated in the region for more than 75 years.

Citing recent warnings from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), DIRCO highlighted the imminent threat of famine in Gaza, noting that one in five residents faces the risk of starvation in the coming weeks. The statement accused Israel of employing starvation as a weapon of war — a practice outlawed by international humanitarian law, including Article 54 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions.

The South African government also referred to ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where provisional measures have been issued to protect Palestinians and ensure humanitarian aid reaches the population — orders it claims Israel continues to defy.

In alignment with comments from UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, South Africa echoed calls for the establishment of an independent international protection mechanism in Gaza and urged the global community to act with urgency.

“Accountability can no longer be deferred. The UN and States need urgently to establish an independent protection mechanism that Israel shall not stop,” the statement read.

South Africa further encouraged all nations to:

  • Demand unconditional humanitarian access to Gaza;

  • Reinforce the mandate and funding of neutral aid agencies, particularly UNRWA;

  • Pursue legal accountability through international and domestic jurisdictions;

  • Take concrete steps to end the blockade and restore adherence to international law.

“The time for moral and legal clarity is now,” Dirco said. “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.”

Article written by