A senior diplomat says Israel’s retaliation against Hamas attacks has become “collective punishment” of Palestinians.
The South African government said it would recall all Israeli diplomats to “signal” its concern about the situation in Gaza.
Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, a minister in the president’s office, said on Monday that all diplomatic staff in Tel Aviv would be asked to return to Pretoria for consultations, without providing further details.
“We are extremely concerned by the continued killings of children and innocent civilians in the Palestinian territories and we believe that the nature of Israel’s response has become collective punishment,” Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said during the a subsequent press conference.
“We felt it was important to signal South Africa’s concern while continuing to call for a comprehensive cessation (of hostilities).”
Fighting has raged in the Gaza Strip for a month since Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack across the Israeli border on October 7.
More than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel since the attack, in which Hamas took more than 240 people hostage.
In response, Israel relentlessly bombed Gaza and sent ground troops. The Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory says nearly 10,000 people have been killed. The victims are mainly civilians and include several thousand children.
Pretoria has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause, with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party often linking it to its own earlier struggle against apartheid.
Pandor said recalling diplomats was “normal practice”, adding that envoys would give a “full briefing” on the situation to the government, which will then decide whether it can be helpful or whether a “continued relationship is actually able to be supported.”
Several countries have recalled Israeli diplomats as global criticism of continued bombing of Gaza mounts.
NATO member Turkey did so on Saturday, joining other Muslim states such as Jordan and Bahrain. Several South American countries have also severed ties following Bolivia, which in early November became the first country to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over its “disproportionate” attacks in Gaza.