The South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD), the democratically elected representative body of South African Jewry, notes with dismay that after nearly a week, the South African Government has failed to condemn the cruel execution of six innocent Israeli and American hostages by Hamas.
The hostages were held for 320 days in Hamas underground tunnels in conditions that are unacceptable by any human rights standards, including a denial of access of the International Red Cross. Hostages that have returned have spoken of the torture and sexual violence that they have been subjected to in Hamas captivity. The six hostages were executed in a tunnel originating from a child’s bedroom in Gaza, providing further evidence of the embedding of Hamas warfare within civilian areas.
Hamas further exploited these tragic events by releasing videos of the hostages’ final moments days after the execution, using them as tools of psychological terror to intensify the anguish of the victims’ families.
Governments across the globe have uniformly condemned this heinous act and we call on our government to do the same. Once again, the hypocrisy of our government is evident. This is a government that claims to uphold the principles of human rights, yet is silent while innocent civilians being held in captivity for nearly a year are executed in such a brutal manner. We are deeply scarred by the loss of all innocent lives in this war and call for the release of the remaining hostages.
Screengrab of Carmel Gat from a released video by Hamas. She was executed by Hamas. Her body was recovered by the IDF on Sunday.