ROCKET FIRE: 104 rockets fired into Israel overnight by terrorist organisation Hamas
Yesterday, Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that 104 rockets had been fired into towns and villages across Southern Israel, following the suicide of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant, Khader Adnan. Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) is a US and EU designated terrorist organisation responsible for numerous terror attacks against Israelis over the past 40 years.
Khader Adnan was arrested for terrorist activity. He was not a leader, he was not a senior official and he was not sentenced to life in prison. Adnan went on a hunger strike following his 13th arrest and refused all medical treatment during his three months in prison, while endangering his life.
Despite multiple convictions and arrests, Adnan continued to encourage and incite terrorist attacks and suicide bombings against Jews. For video footage of Adnan encouraging terrorist activity, please click here.
Adnan refused to be examined and receive medical treatment from Israel Prison Service medical authorities or other civilian authorities. He was fully aware of his condition and the risks involved, while also expressing his refusal to take medical examinations and tests.
Following his suicide, militants from the internationally proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas, fired 104 rockets into Southern Israel from the Gaza strip. All 104 rockets were fired overnight. Israeli citizens (including Christians, Muslims, Druze and those of the Jewish faith) had up to 15 seconds at a time to make their way to a bomb shelter nearby.
Sadly, a number of militant rockets landed in the Gaza Strip itself, harming five members of a family in Beit Hanoun, including children.
The IDF responded by attacking targets in the Gaza Strip last night, including: an underground tunnel, a munitions site, military facilities and a military outpost belonging to Hamas.
The South African Department of International Relations (DIRCO) and Minister Naledi Pandor are always quick to condemn Israel at every opportunity, but have remained silent this week while the human rights of all Israelis have been jeopardised by escalating levels of violence and rocketfire from Hamas.
This is a grave and serious misstep in our country’s foreign policy, given the fact that Israel remains the only democracy in the Middle East where the rights of all religions, minorities, ethnicities and beliefs are protected. It is the only country in the Middle East where the population of Christians is protected and growing. It is home to some of the world’s holiest sites that hold religious and spiritual reverence for Christians, Muslims and Jews.
The SAZF calls on the ANC government to end its hostility towards the state of Israel, and condemn the violence of Hamas militants, which has jeopardised the lives of Israelis and residents of the Gaza Strip.
Israel remains a partner for development for all African countries. In 2023 alone, political parties and public representatives from Angola, Chad, Papua New Guinea, Somaliland and Sudan have all made moves to grow their diplomatic relations with Israel. It is time for South Africa to condemn terror activity in the Middle East, and do the same.
ENDS
IMAGE: IDF Facebook Page, (https://www.facebook.com/idfonline)
