Gaza Ministry of Health says more than 24,400 Palestinians have died, and the United Nations says a quarter of the 2.3 million people trapped in Gaza are starving. In Israel, about 1,200 people were killed during it October 7 attack by Hamas which sparked the war and saw around 250 people captured by militants.
Mahamat was speaking at a conference in Kabbalah of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a group of 120 states that aspire not to be formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.
Speaking during the meeting of heads of state at the weekly gathering, Mahamat called on the 120 member states to demand international justice for the Palestinians.
His comments were echoed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who called for the release of all hostages and “the resumption of talks for a just solution that will end the suffering of the Palestinian people.”
Ramaphosa called for further unhindered and expanded humanitarian access to allow vital aid and essential services to meet the needs of all those living in Gaza.
South Africa has filed a case file to the International Court of Justice against Israel for genocide and asked the United Nations’ highest court to order an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza.
“This is necessary to protect against further, serious and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people,” Ramaphosa said.
At the opening of the conference on Monday, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN called on members of the Non-Aligned Movement to put pressure on Israel to implement a ceasefire in Gaza after 100 days of war with Hamas.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Rahid Mansour said that despite UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, a ceasefire remained elusive.
The Non-Aligned Movement, formed during the collapse of colonial systems and at the height of the Cold War, has played a key role in decolonization processes, according to its website.
Mansour compared Israel’s military offensive in Gaza to apartheid, the system of white minority rule in South Africa that was finally abolished in 1994. Israel rejects such claims.