APA-Pretoria (South Africa) The BRICS grouping of leading emerging economies has expressed concern at the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and called for the “release of all civilians who are being illegally held captive” by both sides.
In a joint statement issued following a virtual emergency meeting chaired by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday, leaders of BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) also urged a “humanitarian truce that would lead to a cessation of hostilities” in the enclave that started on 7 October following an incursion by Hamas militants into southern Israel that killed over 1,000 people.
Israel’s retaliation, which has seen overwhelming bombings on the tiny strip, has killed over 14,000 people – including 5,000 children – a situation which has alarmed the world in Tel Aviv’s calculated violence which has targeted homes, hospitals, refugee camps and schools where civilians have sought refuge.
In the joint statement, BRICS condemned any “kind of individual or mass forcible transfer and deportation of Palestinians from their own land” — labelling it a “war crime.”
During the meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping of China called for a cease-fire, and denounced Israel’s “collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force.”
Russian President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia advocated for a cease-fire and highlighted the potential role of BRICS states, along with countries in the region, in finding a political solution to the conflict.
Host President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa described the “deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food, and water to the residents of Gaza” as “tantamount to genocide.”
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said “the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza is causing immense human suffering,” emphasising the need for international efforts towards de-escalation.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called the war a “humanitarian catastrophe,” saying Hamas’s terrorist attacks, while “barbaric,” did not justify the use of “indiscriminate and disproportionate force against civilians” in Gaza.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates, invited to join BRICS next year, also participated in the meeting.
NM/jn/APA