Cabinet has condemned the bombing by the Israeli government of Gaza’s Ahli-Arab Baptist Hospital on Tuesday, which killed over 500 people and injured over 1 000 civilians.
Cabinet described the act as a blatant violation of International Humanitarian Law and called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to immediately act against such a breach.
“The failure to act meaningfully by both the ICC and the United Nations will be a demonstration of the total collapse of a rules-based multilateral system,” Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said on Thursday.
Ntshavheni described the bombing of the hospital as a “war crime” as hospitals are considered a haven under International Humanitarian Law.
The Minister was briefing the media on the outcomes of Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.
“Cabinet calls on the ICC to investigate the bombing and the crime of genocide in this conflict and on the international community not to allow the perpetration of another holocaust under its watch.
“The Jewish holocaust is enough stain in the history of mankind for the international community to fold its arms while the Israeli government perpetrates a Palestinian holocaust,” she said.
Since the Israel-Hamas war, thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have been killed, and far more injured.
Many violations of international law, according to the Executive Authority, have been committed by all sides. They called for accountability and justice in response to all those crimes.
“Cabinet condemned the cowardly attack by Hamas that killed and injured innocent people. Similarly, Cabinet condemned the heinous opportunism of the Israeli government to use Hamas’ cowardice to continue its genocide against the people of Palestine.”
Cabinet believes the international community must be seized with finding a permanent security solution for the people of Israel and Palestine through the settlement of the two-state solution founded on the 1947 borders.
“Cabinet calls on the Israeli government to stop the bombardment of civilian establishments such as hospitals, schools and homes and for the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow the passage of aid including food and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip.”