@netanyahu (X)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military group Hamas has started a brutal and evil war in Israel.
He says the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) will immediately use all its strength to destroy their capabilities and avenge what he called a dark and unprecedented day in Israel.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed in the fighting after Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel with fighters also crossing the border and attacking several towns.
Israel retaliated with a relentless bombardment of Gaza City, with at least 200 reported killed on Saturday.
According to reports, Israeli civilians are currently being held hostage across several cities in the south of Israel.
"Hamas wants to murder us all. This is an enemy that murders children and mothers in their homes, in their beds, an enemy that abducts the elderly, children and young women, that slaughters and massacres our citizens, including children, who simply went out to enjoy the holiday.
"All of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating in, that wicked city, we will turn them into rubble," said Netanyahu
The Minister also urged residents of Gaza to leave now as the IDF will be operating forcefully everywhere.
"At this hour, the IDF is clearing the terrorists out of the last communities. They are going community by community, house by house, and are restoring our control," he added.
Netanyahu also thanked US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and the Prime Minister of Great Britain Rishi Sunak for their unwavering support.
South Africa
On Saturday the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) called for an immediate cessation of violence restraint and peace between Israel and Palestine.
The Department said the latest developments have arisen from the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al Aqsa mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.
South Africa called on all sides to seize the opportunity for peace as opposed to violence, and for the international community to actively rise on the side of its own International resolutions and establish a credible peace process.
"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," said DIRCO.
The official opposition, Democratic Alliance, has called on the government to “unequivocally” condemn the attacks on Israel by members of Hamas, during which hostages were also reportedly taken.
