Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za

3-minute read
23 October 2023 | 22:38 CAT

Image: Dunya News

Tensions are growing as the ongoing death and devastation mount against the Palestinians by the Israeli Defence Force, which has now entered its 16th day.

Egypt called together world leaders in Cairo in a summit on Saturday to try to negotiate a ceasefire and ensure humanitarian aid. While some members of the international community have taken a clear stance on war, others, including some of South Africa’s BRICS partners, have been more cautious with assigning blame.

The meeting ended without leaders and foreign ministers agreeing on a joint statement, two weeks into a conflict that has killed thousands and visited a humanitarian catastrophe in the blockaded Gaza enclave of 2.3 million people.

Diplomats attending the talks had not been optimistic about a breakthrough, with Israel preparing a ground invasion of Gaza to wipe out the militant Palestinian group Hamas.

“The Summit brought together ten countries, amongst them, South Africa came to the fore. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he is calling on the United Nations to lead a negotiated initiative and ceasefire, which may not necessarily occur now,” said Professor Andre Thomashausen, Prof Emeritus of International Law at Unisa.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Israel’s air and missile strikes on Saturday had killed at least 4,385 Palestinians since the Hamas attack.

While Arab and Muslim states called for an immediate end to Israel’s offensive, Western countries mostly voiced more modest goals, such as humanitarian relief for civilians.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally and a vital player in all past peace efforts in the region, only sent its Cairo charge d’affaires, who did not publicly address the meeting.

Arab states fear the offensive could drive Gaza residents permanently from their homes and even into neighbouring states – as happened when Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes in the 1948 war following Israel’s creation.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his country opposed what he called the displacement of Palestinians into Egypt’s largely desert Sinai region, adding the only solution was an independent Palestinian state.

Listen to the full interview on Your World Today with Mufti Yusuf Moosagie.